The Boy Who Destroyed The World
by I Am Atrocity
Summary: He is a beacon of hope for many and they all look to him to save them when the darkness once again rises. What happens when he says no? AU. Harry/Hermione. OC secondary character . Language and Violence warning. ABANDONED.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

First off I would like to thank those of you who reviewed or favorited my other story 'Blessed With A Curse', thank you so much, it made me feel good to know that someone enjoyed my effort.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter, except some DVDs and books.

A/N: An idea inspired by AFI. They own the song that inspired this. Song: The Boy Who Destroyed The World by AFI.

My OC Damien was strongly inspired by Irish actor Cillian Murphy (if he was in the films I would have cast him in the role).

Pairing(s): Harry/Hermione, others yet to be decided (will take suggestions).

WARNINGS: AU, Language, Violence and Bashing.

**The Boy Who Destroyed The World**

**By**

**I Am Atrocity**

Chapter I: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I mean Hogwarts (Part I: The Beginning)

**Halloween. A night celebrated by children all over the world. But on this year it held a darker meaning for the inhabitants of the small two-story house at the end of the lane. **

** The Potters were all gathered in the living room, just enjoying being together. James and Lily sat on the couch with little Harry snuggled happily between them. They sat this way for an hour, basking in a warmth created only by the joy of family.**

** James Potter smiled as he gave his wife a soft kiss and pulled her closer to him the arm he had around her shoulder.**

** Then the perimeter alarm flared then they all felt the wards hiding their home fall. They had been found. James jumped to his feet, his wand was in his hand faster than anyone could blink. A glance out of the window was all that was needed to confirm their worst fears.**

** "Lily it's him. Take Harry and go! I'll hold him off. Go!"**

** She did as she was told. She scooped up a frightened Harry and bolted for the back door. **

** "Stand aside." hissed the man in the black cloak. She heard James deny the request before there was a bright green flash. **

** "NO!"**

** At her scream the man approached her. She ran out of the door and into the back yard. The ground was slightly uneven and caused her to trip. She spun he body so as not to land on Harry, who was now crying. She sat Harry down on the ground behind her and stood to face Voldemort.**

** "Stand aside, stupid girl." he hissed.**

** "No, not Harry! Take me instead," she pleaded with tears in her eyes.**

** "This is my last warning."**

** "No, not Harry...please not Harry...kill me instead just don't hurt Harry...I'll do anything...please..," she begged as her tears shone brightly in the light of the moon. Voldemort laughed coldly.**

** "Very well, you will die first. Avada Kadavra!" There another green flash and Lily crumbled lifelessly into the grass, a look of horror on her face. Voldemort once again raised his wand and pointed it at the boy's head. He smirked and repeated his earlier spell. Then, something miraculous happened. Harry was engulfed in a golden-white light and the sickly green of the Killing curse rebounded on its caster.**

** Harry was left with a slightly bleeding lightning bolt scar on his forehead.**

**IIII**

**Harry POV:**

He awoke to the sound of someone beating on the door of his cupboard under the stairs. "Boy! Get up and make the breakfast now! And don't you dare burn anything!" His uncle yelled through the door. _**Dammit, can't they cook their own damn food?**_ He hauled himself to his feet and headed to the kitchen. He cooked the eggs and fried the bacon to perfection. _**Did I get a thank you? No, but I did get what little was left over. That's a fair trade right? Wrong! I'm starving. But if I ask for more I'll just get hit again. What did I do to deserve this? Oh yeah, I was born, that's what it was. Oh well I can't change that, well I could 'fix' it but I'm not too sure I'm fond of that idea.**_

Well today just happened to be his cousin Dudley's birthday. _**Oh joy. Note the sarcasm in that remark. Because it's his birthday that means that I get their bitch even more, yippee. Oh look more sarcasm. **_

_**Ah the zoo, now this good. I get to see animals that I have never seen before**_. They walked into the 'Reptile House'. He was gazing at a rather large python when Dudley shoved him to the floor. He glared at him and suddenly the glass separating the spoiled git from the snake vanished. _**Oh that can't be good.**_ What happened next was funny as hell and at the same time horrible. The snake lunged out of its tank at Dudley, who then fell on his ass screaming like a little girl. After that the snake simply slithered away.

This was the bad part and good too but oh well. Uncle Vernon was convinced that it was Harry's fault the snake had tried to attack Dudley and in his fury began to hit him over and over until he was nearly unconscious and would have continued but he was suddenly thrown off.

A young man of about twenty-three with longish brown hair and startling blue eyes stood over Harry with his fists clenched. Vernon regained his feet sputtering with rage. His face had turned a alarming purple color.

"How dare you! Get out of my way! I'm going teach the little bastard a lesson he won't soon forget!" he yelled, spittle flying from his mouth with every word.

"Sorry, I can't let you do that," the man said in what Harry thought was an Irish accent. Vernon was about to say something else but was cut off by the arrival of several police officers. Apparently one of the onlookers had called them when Vernon had begun his assault on Harry. When they asked what had happened Vernon didn't help himself any by telling the officer that he was merely teaching his nephew a lesson. Some paramedics were called in to assess Harry's condition, it turned out that Vernon had broken three of his ribs and severely bruised his face and almost broke his nose. After getting statements from multiple witnesses Vernon was cuffed and taken away.

They spoke longest with the man who had helped Harry. "...and his wife and son just stood by and watched with what I'm pretty sure were looks of approval. So I stepped in to help the lad," he finished telling the officer he was speaking to. When the officer told him that that was all he needed he went to Harry's side as the paramedics were strapping him into a stretcher. "How are you feeling lad?"

Harry looked at him through pain filled eyes, "I've been better, sir."

"Well they'll get you all fixed up at the hospital then We'll see what we can do about getting you out of that house and into somewhere safer."

"You mean I won't have to go back to the Dursleys?" Harry asked, not daring to hope. _**That would be the best thing ever. **_He didn't know who this man was but anyone was willing to protect him from his uncle _and _get him out of their 'care' couldn't all that bad right?

"Not if I have anything to do with it you won't. By the way, my name is Damien, Damien Lynch." He offered his hand which Harry shook after a moments hesitation.

"Harry Potter, nice to meet you."

"Well Harry it looks like the ambulance is ready to go so I'll see you at the hospital after I've finished here." Harry nodded and the paramedics placed him in the back of the ambulance and drove off.

Damien turned back to those gathered in the reptile house and pulled out his wand. _**Time to make them all forget that they ever saw that glass disappear.**_

"_Obliviate_."

**IIII**

A/N: it's kinda short but it's just the first chapter. Review if you would be so kind, I'd like to know what I need to work on or fix. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2: The Truth

First off: thank you all who reviewed, favorited or put this story on alert. I wasn't expecting as many as there were, so again thank you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter but I'll give you a clue as to who does: HER last name starts with an 'R' ends with a 'G' and rhymes with 'Bowling'. I do own Damien though.

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter II: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I Mean Hogwarts (Part II: the Truth)**

The next day Harry was laying on a soft white hospital bed. He had a pounding headache, now you might think that being in a hospital it would be easy to get rid of a headache. WRONG! Especially when it's the white walls and bright lights of said hospital that were causing the damned thing. He was bored as well, the doctors had left about an hour ago and the TV remote was out of reach.

He sighed, _**Well this is fun, oh look a random spot on the wall! Let's see if I can spot more. Pun intended. **_He had just begun twiddling his thumbs when another thought hit him. _**Where's that Damien guy? He said that he'd be here after he finished with the police, that was yesterday. **_An officer had come to his room and questioned him earlier that day, and after taking a statement from him had left again without a word. He was beginning to think that the man had no intention of showing, and had only said those things to make him feel better.

Harry was just about to give up that train of thought when the door opened. _**Speak of the devil! **_Damien entered the room, he was carrying something in his right hand but he kept it slightly hidden so that Harry couldn't make out what it was until he raised it with a smirk.

"Thought you might be hungry," he said as he held out the small paper sack. Harry took the sack with a bit of trepidation. Inside he found an apple, a sandwich, a bag of chips and a can of strawberry soda. Harry gave Damien a suspicious look.

"It's not poisoned Harry," Damien told him with a touch of humor coloring his words. Harry hesitated a bit longer before coming to the conclusion that his hunger far outweighed his fear. "Now, Harry I know that you've already been questioned by the police but I have a few questions of my own. Is it okay if I ask them?"

Harry thought for a moment then nodded his head, not wanting to speak yet as he had just taken a bite of the turkey sandwich.

"Okay, it's really simple, just tell me _everything _you remember from yesterday's incident."

"Um...everything?"

"Everything," confirmed Damien, "leave nothing out."

Harry shifted before looking back at Damien who for some reason had waved his hand toward the door while muttering something. When he turned back he had an expectant look on his face. "Okay, begin."

And so Harry told him everything, starting with him waking up to the glass vanishing. "...one minute the glass was there and then it was gone. It was like magic. You know the rest." Damien seemed to find something amusing.

"Like magic huh?"

"Um...yeah...but magic isn't real."

Once again Damien seemed to find this amusing. "Now what makes you say that?"

Harry did not answer.

"Well..." He stood and turned his back to Harry. He reached into the inside pocket of his coat and removed what he had hidden there before turning back with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He raised his hand a second time.

"This came for you in the mail while I was paying a visit to your aunt's house," he said tossing the envelope onto Harry's lap. "I'd go ahead and open it so we can go ahead get the inevitable discussion out of the way."

Harry was confused, why had he been to his house? When Harry asked this Damien waved his hand in a gesture that suggested that considered the answer irrelevant. Harry looked at the envelope, it was made of some strange type of material he had never seen before. The address was written in green ink and had an odd flourish to it. Holding the envelope closed was a red wax seal embossed with a coat of arms. He turned it back over and read the address again:

Mr. H. Potter

The Cupboard under the Stairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging, Surry

_**What? How does whoever sent this know that I live in the cupboard? **_Determined to find the answer__he ripped open the seal and removed the first piece of 'paper' and read aloud. "Dear, Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He turned his gaze back to Damien who was looking at him with an unreadable expression. "This is some kind of joke right?"

"Hmm? Oh, afraid not," Damien said.

"But I don't understand. What does this mean?"

"Well, for starters it means you are a wizard." Harry opened his mouth to protest. "Ah, it won't help to argue, trust me."

Harry closed his mouth and sat quietly for a moment, letting everything sink in. Finally after a long silence he asked a question that popped into his mind, _**How does he know all this?**_ "Are you a wizard too?"

__"Yes," Damien answered simply.

"...Why did you help me?"

Damien studied him, wondering how much he should tell the boy. He decided on as much as was safe at the moment, after all he himself hated it when people withheld information. "Well for starters: It's the job I was hired to do."

"So you only helped me because if you didn't you wouldn't get paid?" Harry asked feeling more than a little disappointed but at the same time he had been expecting that it wasn't just a coincidence.

"No," he hesitated a second, "the truth is that I grew up under pretty much the same circumstances as you, only it was my grandmother and not my aunt and uncle. When she finally died and I was free I swore I wouldn't let what happened to me happen to anyone else if I could help it. That's why after Hogwarts I joined up in the Auror program, so I could help others."

Harry cut him off with another question, "What's an Auror?"

"An Auror is pretty much the magical equivalent of the police."

"So, you are a cop?"

"No, well not any more. I quit about a year ago. I didn't feel as though my talents were being put to good use, that and the British Ministry is so corrupt that an honest man can't make an honest living, so I decided to just become a private contractor. About a week ago I was hired to watch over you as discretely as possible and only interfere if I felt that your life was in danger. With my past there was no way I was going to stand by and let a grown man beat a child." He explained. " Now back to the problem at hand. What are you going to do? Go to Hogwarts? Or explore other options?"

"Um...I guess I'll try Hogwarts first just to see what it's like. I can always change my mind later right?"

Damien nodded, "Right. Okay, well I'll go talk to the doctors and see when you can leave. Oh, and by the way I took the liberty of pressing charges on your uncle and filing for your adoption, I hope you don't mind. With a little wand waving I got you signed over to me immediately, no trial necessary. I'll be back in a minute." Without awaiting Harry's reply he walked out the door and closed it behind him.

Harry was dumbfounded. First he finds out that he is a wizard, then that the man who saved his life was one as well and now that he had adopted him. That was a lot to take in. Then another thought formed in his head. _**He never told me who hired him. Something feels off about him but I can't put my finger on it. And why do I get the feeling that there's something he isn't telling me?**_

Damien returned a few minutes later with a change of clothes for Harry, they consisted of a pair of black jeans and a plain gray t-shirt, and informed him that he had signed him out and then offered to help him get dressed seeing as his injuries made it difficult for him. After he was dressed they both got into Damien's car, which was a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala modified so that the steering wheel was on the right side, and drove to his flat in London. Inside the flat was rather empty, which Damien said was because he was hardly ever there. The living room had a TV, a comfortable looking couch, a reclining chair and a low table. The kitchen was fully stocked with nonperishable foods and both bedrooms had a bed, a dresser and a bathroom. Each bathroom had a toothbrush and anything else one could possibly need while bathing or grooming.

Harry asked Damien if the doctor had said how long he would have to wear his bandages. Damien replied that he wouldn't have to have them long because after he had showered he was going to take him to a magical hospital called St. Mungo's to get him fixed up.

Fifteen minutes later they were back in the car and heading into downtown London. They arrived in the magically hidden hospital and Damien approached the receptionist.

"Excuse me, miss. Harry Potter needs to see a healer as soon as possible," Damien told her as if that was all the information that was needed. And as it turned out it was, as soon as the woman heard his name she looked at him and her eyes widened. Not five minutes later they were in an examination room with a middle-aged man waving his wand over Harry while muttering under his breath.

The bruising in Harry's face was taken care of fairly quickly but his ribs took a little longer to heal. Three hours later they were parked in front of some place called 'The Leaky Cauldron'. Damien killed the engine and made to open his door.

"Um.. What is this place?" Harry wondered out lout. _**It looks like a dingy old pub. **_

"The Leaky Cauldron, it's a wizarding pub. But it is also one of the less nausea inducing if more conspicuous ways to get into Diagon Alley." Damien answered him before exiting and locking the vehicle. They entered the pub and Damien hurriedly drug Harry through it, hoping to get out of there before someone noticed either of them.

"Oi Damien! Is that you?"

"Dammit," Damien cursed under his breath. He put on a smile and turned to face the person who had spoken. "Hello, Tom."

"Will ye be having yer usual?"

"Uh, no. I'm kinda on an important errand at the moment." Damien answered as calmly as he could manage.

"Oh, well I'll let ye get on yer way then." Tom told him in a disappointed way. Damien had every intention of getting both him and Harry out of there but was once again foiled. "Blimey! Is that..? It is! It's Harry Potter!"

Damien once again cursed, louder this time. _**Wait a minute, how the hell does this guy now who I am? **_

Harry was then swarmed by people wanting to say hello or shake his hand or welcome him back (whatever they meant by that) or just touch him. He was feeling overwhelmed by having so many people paying attention to him at the same time and he wasn't sure he liked it. _**They're all mad! What **__**the bloody hell is going on! **_

__After about ten minutes of this Damien had finally had enough and grabbed Harry and pulled him out a back door and into an alleyway. Harry was thankful for this but he wanted answers.

"What the hell was that all about?" he asked trying not to yell.

"Well, you see, in the magical world you are...uh...well famous." Damien said in a way that said he was uncomfortable with this subject. Harry demanded he tell him why he was famous and Damien was baffled at how much his personality had changed from the timid boy he had been back at the hospital. "On Halloween night 1981, Lord Voldemort, have you heard of him?" Harry shook his head no. "Well that's a long story, let's just suffice to say that he was a very evil dark wizard. Now on Halloween Lord Voldemort he, well he killed your parents" Harry gasped, he had never known this, he had been told that they had died in a car crash by his aunt. "And he tried to kill you as well but...something happened and his curse backfired on him. Because of this the entire wizarding community sees you as a hero." Damien watched a slew of emotions pass across Harry's face and finally settle on anger.

Harry was pissed, "Did any of them know about how I was treated at the Dursleys?" he asked while fighting his growing rage.

"Yes," _**What! They knew yet they still left me there?**_

Harry could barely keep his voice even when he asked, "Who?"

"First and foremost there is Albus Dumbledore, the supposed 'leader of the light'. From what my employer has told me he was the one who made the decision to place you there. Then there is Remus Lupin, he tried multiple times to get you out of there but was thwarted every time by Dumbledore. and-"

Harry had a sudden question that cut through his anger, "Is he the one who hired you?"

Damien answered slowly, "One of them."

"Who was the other?"

"A man who wishes to remain unnamed," Damien said. "Lets just say that they were both 'friends' of your parents."

With that out of the way they continued on to Diagon Alley. Harry, his anger having faded after finding out two of his parents' friends had been trying to help him for years, stared in wide-eyed wonder at everything. Then a problem made itself known in the form of the sight of a woman giving her child a few golden coins. "Damien, how am I to pay for all of the stuff on my list? I haven't got any money."

Damien chuckled and pointed to a large white building in the distance, "Well, first we make a stop at Gringotts and withdraw some money, then we buy your stuff."

They entered the bank and approached the first open teller they saw. Harry was startled when he caught sight of the goblin sitting behind tall desks. _**Holy Shit what the hell is that thing! **_When asked Damien informed him that they were Goblins.

Damien gave a slight bow to the goblin with Harry following his example. "Excuse me, Mr. Harry Potter wishes to speak to his account manager as soon as he is available."

The goblin looked at Harry and then pulled a thick book toward him and began skimming through it. A couple of pages later he apparently found what he was looking for, "One moment." The goblin then climbed down from his seat and disappeared behind the desks. He reappeared next to them a few moments later and beckoned for them to follow him. He led them through a door and down a couple of hallways before entering a small office. He bowed to them and closed the door leaving them inside. In the center of the office sat another goblin, the nameplate on his desk read 'Griphook'. He looked up from the scroll he was reading and motioned for them to take a seat. They did so. "Greetings, my name is Griphook. How may I be of service?"

Harry looked to Damien for help. "Mr. Potter here needs access to his vaults" Damien informed him.

"I see. And may I ask who you are?"

"Damien Lynch, his guardian."

Griphook nodded. "Does Mr. Potter have his key?"

"No sir, he does not. This is the reason we came to see you today. He has never been in possession of his key, and we do not know who has it at this moment," Damien answered in a polite business-like tone.

Griphook appeared troubled by this information and began searching through his files. He had been searching for about five minutes when he stopped and reread a passage a couple of times, growing angrier with each passing second. Harry was getting worried, it seemed that Griphook had found something that didn't please him.

He notified them that all of the keys had been taken by one Albus Dumbledore under the pretense that he was Harry's magical guardian and was taking them for safekeeping. He had also made several withdrawals from Harry's vault over the past ten years. Damien, in the first actual show of anger Harry had seen from the normally placid man, demanded as politely as he could that they recall all keys and properties that had been removed then proceeded to grit his teeth will cursing Dumbledore rather violently. Quite frankly it unnerved Harry with some of the thing he was threatening, just when he thought he was getting a grasp on his companions personality something came up that threw him back into speculation.

After Griphook had magically recalled the keys and charged Dumbledore's account in order replace what had been taken, they were led to Harry's vault where he filled a money bag that Damien had provided for him. They then headed back out to Diagon Alley where Damien led him to all the shops that he needed to visit, ending with Ollivander's Wands. Harry entered the shop and appraised his surroundings. He started at the sound of a voice.

"Ah, I was wondering when I would be seeing you, Mr. Potter." _**Oh great, someone else who knows who I am. Can I not go anywhere without drawing attention? **_The man, who turned out to be Ollivander, made him try several different wands before settling on an eleven inch holly wand with a phoenix feather core. He paid seven galleons for it and left with the old mans cryptic words about his wand and scar echoing in his skull, **'Curious, that you would be chosen for this wand when its brother gave you that scar.'** When he asked Damien what he had meant by this he got a one word answer: Voldemort.

It was evening by the time they returned to the flat, having stopped to have dinner at a muggle diner on the way back. Harry stored all of his school supplies in his closet and moved the dresser in front of the door, childish I know but he still didn't know if he trusted Damien. He laid on the surprisingly soft bed and drifted off to sleep.

**IIII**

A/N: well there's Chapter 2. Review if you want.


	3. Chapter 3: Arrivals and Departures

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Harry Potter or anything associated with it. If I did Harry would have never forgiven Ron for turning his back on him in fourth year.

A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed.

A warning before hand, 1) there is a bit of bashing ahead, 2) I can't write the twins very well so forgive me if I portray them wrong.

ABC : Twins talking at same time.

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter III: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I mean Hogwarts (Part III: Arrivals and Departures)**

Harry's eleventh birthday came and went without much fuss, though Damien had insisted that they at least have a cake and presents. Harry had protested at first but considering that Damien was as stubborn a brick wall he eventually gave in. Damien had given him a wand holster that was charmed to prevent his wand from being affected by spells such as _Expelliarmus, _and a locket which instead of a picture or some such thing contained a Foe Glass. It was this, more than anything else, that caused Harry to begin trusting Damien more.

Harry's habit of moving his dresser in front of his door had been a source of great amusement for Damien, who had discovered it the second morning of Harry's stay when he had come in to wake him for breakfast. Harry, though embarrassed, continued to do this until he received the Foe glass and found no trace of Damien in its surface.

**IIII**

On** t**he morning of September 1st Harry awoke to the smell of food. He groggily rolled himself out of bed before putting on his glasses and heading for the kitchen. It was there that he found Damien dressed in a dark suit and tie and standing before the stove frying eggs and bacon. "Good morning," he called when he heard Harry enter the kitchen.

"Mornin'," Harry mumbled back, sleep still evident in his voice. A light screech reached Harry's ears and he turned towards the sound and froze. "Uh...Damien?" he called out, with a bit of apprehension.

"Hm?" Damien asked without taking his eyes off of the food he was cooking.

"The-there's an owl in your house!"

Damien turned to the kitchen window, "Ah, so there is." he gave a soft whistle and the small barn owl flew over to the table. Damien then set a plate with a few pieces of bacon in front of the bird before removing the letter that was tied to its leg.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Calm down Harry, in the wizarding world owls, such our friend here, are used to deliver mail. Just make sure you give them something to show your appreciation or you'll regret it. Hence the bacon," Damien told him with a smile. "Come to think of it, you'll be needing an owl in case you need to contact me while you're at Hogwarts. I'll pick one up while I'm out today."

"Where are you going?"

"I've a few errands to run today," he said as he set a plate of food in front of Harry who picked up his fork and began eating. Damien broke the seal on his letter and began to read silently. After he was finished he pulled out his wand and the letter went up in flames. "And it appears that I also have a meeting to attend."

Damien then picked up a briefcase and headed for the door, "The house is yours while I'm out. I'm counting on you to not mess anything up. I'll be back before dinner. Bye." With that he was gone.

Harry finished his breakfast and put his plate in the sink to be washed later. He then went to the living room to see if there was anything on television.

**IIII**

Damien entered the private room at the Three Broomsticks and took a seat at the table. Across from him sat a tired looking Remus Lupin. "Good day, Mr. Lupin," Damien greeted as he poured himself a glass of butterbeer from the pitcher on the table.

"Good day, Damien. And please call me Remus." Lupin returned with a small smile. "Now, on to business. What is Harry's condition?"

"I have taken him into my own custody," Damien informed him. Remus was instantly worried.

"What? Why?"

Instead of answering Damien opened his briefcase and removed a rather good sized stack of papers. "Perhaps you should take a look at these," he said handing the stack to Remus. "That's Harry's entire medical history from when he was a baby to just a little over a week ago. Well those are the muggle hospital records anyway. This," he handed a wide-eyed, pale-faced Remus another piece of paper, "is the diagnostic summary from St. Mungo's."

"Dear God," Remus said looking like he was going to be sick. Damien didn't blame him, the injuries were quite extensive. _**At least he didn't have to witness it first-hand. It took all I had not to tear that bastard limb from limb. I can only imagine what Remus would have done considering his wolfish tendencies. **_"Have the muggle authorities been informed of this?" he asked shakily.

"Yes, Vernon is serving a fifteen year sentence in prison while Petunia is serving a ten year sentence. I tried to get longer but that was the best I could do while staying within the laws. Dudley was sent to a boy's home until he is eighteen."

"How did you get the evidence for this?"

Damien exhaled slowly. That was the one question he was hoping Remus wouldn't ask. "Well, the day after our last meeting they went to the zoo for Dudley's birthday. While there Harry performed a bit of accidental magic and released a python which tried to strike Dudley. Vernon blamed Harry and attacked him. By the time I had thrown him off he had already broken three ribs and done quite a bit of damage to Harry's face. Someone had called the police during this time and they took Vernon in custody then and there."

Remus's emotions had done a complete one-eighty. Instead of being calm, and sickened, he was now quite valiantly fighting off his rage. He was losing that battle until Damien spoke again.

"I convinced the authorities to grant me guardianship of Harry immediately by telling them that I was a distant cousin of his...and with a little bit of wand work. I also had to make sure that no one remembered the glass disappearing."

"How did you do that?" Remus asked already knowing the answer but wanting to hear Damien say it.

"Obliviation."

"Damn it Damien, you can't go around Obliviating people. If the Ministry catches you then you go to Azkaban!"

"Calm down Remus, they won't catch me. I used to be an Auror, remember? My wand is untraceable," Damien told him hoping to calm him down again.

Remus sighed and rubbed his temples. "You take too many risks Mr. Lynch," he told him.

"I disagree Mr. Lupin. One of the biggest problems in our world that no one takes enough risks."

Remus chuckled at this and checked his watch. "Well, we are out of time here," he said standing. Damien stood as well and gathered up all of his papers and returned them to his briefcase. Remus removed a money bag and tossed it on the table between them. "Here is your pay, with a little extra so you can buy Harry something as a late birthday gift from my associate and I," He told him.

Damien picked up the money and stashed it in his briefcase.. "Are you ever going to tell me who this 'associate' of yours is?"

Remus shook his head, "Not until he wishes for you to know. But, for the sake of simplicity, we'll call him 'S'. Fair enough?"

Damien nodded. "Well I was going to buy Harry an owl, I guess I'll make that your present."

Remus nodded his head in acceptance before shaking Damien's hand and leaving. Damien followed a moment after.

**IIII**

Harry walked amongst the crowds of King's Cross Station. Damien walked beside him pushing a trolly that held his school trunk and a cage which contained a beautiful white owl. Damien had brought her home the day before and told Harry that she was a late birthday present from his employers. Harry had named her Hedwig, he had seen the name in a book and the owl seemed to like it.

They had just reached the pillar that represented platforms nine and ten when Harry heard an extremely loud female voice saying something about muggles and Platform 9¾. Harry and Damien turned to see a woman with red hair leading a large pack of redheaded children in their direction.

"Weasleys," Damien sneered as if he was seeing something unpleasant.

"What?" Harry asked.

Damien nodded at the group of redheads, "Weasleys. Dumbledore's lackeys. Only a few of them are decent people. I remember Bill from school, even if we were in different years and Houses, he was a decent enough bloke but his mother is a manipulative bitch. Don't be surprised if they try to be your friends or if they hunt you down to try."

Harry nodded. "Come on, let's get onto the platform before they spot us, I don't feel like dealing with them today," Damien said and pushed Harry through the gateway before following himself.

Harry gazed at the bright red steam engine. **_It seems that Hogwarts is biased in favor of Gryffindor, _**he thought with disgust. Damien had told him all about the house system at Hogwarts and voiced his distaste for the concept. Harry agreed with him wholeheartedly, it was disgusting. **_And they wonder why there are problems in their society. _**Damien as it turned out was a muggle-born and had been sorted into Slytherin, which was a shock in itself seeing as how the House was a notorious hub for pure-blood bigotry and as far as anyone knew didn't accept anyone less than half-blood.

Damien helped Harry load his trunk onto the train, "Well Harry, this is where we part ways. Try to stay out of trouble. Oh, and just so you know, you are welcome to come back for the Christmas Holidays unless something comes up. Just send Hedwig with a letter if you need anything."

"Will do," Harry said and shook Damien's hand. Damien then turned and headed back the way they had come. Harry turned back to the train and set off to find an empty compartment.

**IIII**

"Oh, where is he? He should have already been here..." The redheaded woman said looking nervous. Dumbledore was counting on her to make sure that Harry befriended her children.

"Maybe he already got on the train mum." the oldest son of the group suggested.

"Or maybe his muggle relatives wouldn't let him come," piped up the small girl.

"Looking for someone?"

The entire group of redheads whipped around at the voice. Damien was not amused in the slightest but put on a smile none the less.

Molly Weasley growled, "You!"

"Me," Damien said with false cheerfulness.

"What are you doing here?" Molly demanded heatedly.

"Oh, I'm just taking a leisurely stroll. And making sure a certain young wizard stays out of Dumbledore's clutches. You know, the things we enlightened individuals do. Unlike you I have a brain and can think for myself, I don't need some senile old goat to do it for me." Damien said all of this as he were merely discussing the weather.

"Just who do you think you are!" Molly Weasley demanded.

"Damien Neil Lynch, 23 years old, born on November 18th 1968 in Ennis, Clare, Ireland. Sorted into Slytherin house, received twelve O.W.L.s and passed all my N.E.W.T.s . Joined the Aurors right out of school and quit because the job was shite. Anything else you want to know? No? Then I bid you good day." with that he then began to walk away giving her a rude hand-gesture as he went.

Molly was left sputtering in anger, "How dare he? That..that awful boy!"

Behind her Fred and George simply rolled their eyes and smirked before walking through the gateway to board the train.

**IIII**

Harry had settled into his compartment and pulled out his potions text to study up before he got to school. About five minutes later the door to his compartment opened to reveal two smiling redheads. **_Oh great, can't they just leave me alone?_**

****"Hello there, firstie. Mind if we join you?" one of them asked and without waiting for an answer took a seat across from him. "I'm Gred."

"And I'm Forge."

"But in reality I'm Fred."

"And I'm George."

"we are-

"the Weasley twins-

"And we-"

"would like-"

"to know-"

"are you Harry Potter?"

Harry didn't even look up from his textbook, "Yes I am. And would you stop talking like that? It's really annoying."

At first the twins looked taken aback by this but soon were smiling again, if not as widely. "Well Harry," said the twin introduced as Fred, "We would like to ask your assistance in a prank we are going to pull on our brother Ron. Interested?"

"No," said simply. **_Pranksters? How immature are these two?_**

****"No? Dear Harry why ever not?" asked George.

Harry looked up at them, "Why would I _want_ to participate in such a childish activity?" he asked rhetorically.

Fred and George seemed rather put out and left soon after to find their friend Lee Jordan. Harry felt the train give a jolt then begin moving. He decided to go ahead and change into his school robes so he wouldn't have to do it later. He had just sat back down to continue reading his textbook when the compartment door was opened again, this time by a younger redheaded boy.

"Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full," he asked.

**_Well that is utter bullshit. There is no way that all of the compartments on this train are full. It's just like Damien said, they'll hunt me down to try and befriend me._** As he was thinking this the boy had taken a seat without waiting for an 'OK'.

"I'm Ron by the way. Ron Weasley." he said sticking out his hand, which Harry noted was rather dirty.

He ignored Ron's hand and kept reading, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

Ron 'appeared' shocked, "So, so it is true!" **_Monkshood, otherwise known as Wolfsbane or Aconite is a flower chiefly native to the mountainous regions of the northern hemisphere. It is most commonly known for its use in the Wolfsbane Potion which..._** "I mean there were rumors that you would be on the train this year but.." **_…it ranges in color from blue to purple, yellow, white or pink and has dark green leaves on its stem... _**"...and I just wanted to know, do you really have the-the um..."

Harry finally having enough of Ron's mindless babble asked as calmly as he could, "The what?"

Ron pointed stupidly at his head, "The scar." **_What the hell! He doesn't even know me and THAT'S the first thing he asks me? Does this guy have no manners or is he just stupid? Or both? _**Harry gave Ron a glare that was meant to tell him to drop the subject but obviously Ron wasn't able to deduce that. "Well do you?"

"Yes," Harry said looking back to his book.

"Well, can I see it?"

Before Harry could answer him the compartment door opened _again_. This time by an elderly woman pushing cart filled with sweets. "Anything from the trolly dears?" Harry couldn't find it in his heart to dismiss the woman so he bought a couple of Chocolate Frogs and a sugar quill. He also bought Ron a few things just to shut him up. Five minutes later he wished that he hadn't. Ron was stuffing so much in his mouth that Harry was trying to figure out how he could breathe. Harry was feeling sick after seeing this and tossed his remaining Frog away. Before it even hit the seat Ron had snatched it up and devoured it whole. During a brief pause in his face-stuffing Ron pulled out his wand. Harry tensed, ready to move if he tried something. "Want to see me turn my rat Scabbers yellow?"

"Not really."

"Okay, Fred told me about this spell," he said as if Harry hadn't spoken, "Here it goes: Sunshine..."

Harry was contemplating telling Ron that he was going to the restroom and never coming back when the door opened a fourth time. He looked up to see a rather pretty girl about his age with bushy brown hair standing in the doorway. Harry was thinking that he was getting tired of people just barging into his compartment when she spoke, "Have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one." **_Maybe you should check Ron's stomach, he ate pretty much everything else, why not a toad too?_**

****"No," Ron answered for both of them. It was then that the girl seemed to notice Ron was even in the room. She then saw that he had his wand out.

"Oh, are you about to do magic? Let's see then," she said in a slightly bossy way.

Ron cleared his throat and repeated the 'incantation' he had begun earlier. Nothing happened. _**Shocker. **_The girl looked skeptical. Harry, realizing he wasn't going to be getting anymore reading done, put his textbook away.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" She asked. _**Nope. **_"Well, it's not very good is it? I've only tried a few simple ones myself but they've all worked for me." She then entered the compartment fully and sat down across from Harry. She pulled out her wand. "For example," she pointed her wand at Harry"s head. Harry, acting on instinct, batted her wand away and stood.

"What the hell! Don't point your wand at me! Are you mad!" Harry yelled angrily. The girl's eyes widened and showed a mixture of fear and hurt.

"I-I'm sorry, I w-was just going to r-repair your glasses. I d-didn't mean to anger you." she stuttered out while staring at her shoes. Harry immediately regretted yelling at her but did his best not to show it, though he did return her wand to her with an apology, but nothing more. It was then that Ron decided to remind them that he was still there, "Um, not be rude," Ron said rudely, "but who are you?"

The girl took this opportunity to make a full introduction, "I'm Hermione Granger. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, it's the best school of witchcraft there is I've heard- I've learned all the course books by heart, of course. I just hope it will be enough- by the way, who are you?"

_**Just a name would have been enough, **_Harry thought bemused, truth be told she was grating on his nerves. Though she looked directly at Harry when she said this Ron seemed to think that she was talking to him. "I'm Ron Weasley," he said as though she should be impressed though what little effect there was was lost considering that his mouth was full. Hermione simply scrunched up her nose and replied with an unimpressed and more than a little disgusted 'Pleasure, I'm Sure-'.

"-but I wasn't talking to you."

She turned back to Harry and repeated her question. "Harry Potter," was all he said before he had to endure a rant about how much she had read about him. _**Wait! What! **_"Wait one fucking minute, you mean there's books about me?" Hermione nodded her head in confusion. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What did these books say about me?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Oh, well they tell about how you defeated You-Know-Who as a baby and how you lost your parents and that you disappeared to live in a magically hidden castle and-"

"Okay, stop right there. A castle? Really? Don't tell me you believe that rubbish."

Hermione had the grace to look embarrassed, "Well not really. But it did make for an interesting story," she admitted sheepishly.

"I don't see why you're so mad about it. You're famous, you should be happy. I'd love to be as famous as you," Ron interjected. Harry wanted to bash his head into the floor until he was either dead or unconscious, whichever came first. _**I re-evaluate my earlier question. This guy is just a pure and simple dumb ass.**_

__"Tell me something Ron. Would you want to be famous for living while your entire family died?"

Ron didn't seem to realize that he had said something wrong, Hermione on the other hand shrunk back, recognizing the dangerous undertone of Harry's voice for what it was: barely controlled rage. "Well...probably not." Ron said after a moment of thought.

"Then why the HELL would you think that I do!" Harry yelled before storming out of the compartment, plowing into a blonde haired boy as he did. "Get the FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!" he told the boy as he shoved passed him and the two large boys following him. He didn't stop walking until he reached the back end of the train. _**What the hell is wrong with that boy? The fact that he had to think about whether or not he would want his family dead speaks volumes about his priorities. It's sickening.**_

__Harry stayed at the back rail of the train for the rest of the trip.

**IIII**

A/N: well there is chapter two. I'm not really sure I captured Hermione's personality right but in my defense I'm a guy so I won't even pretend to know how a girl's mind works (no offense to any girls/women who are reading this). Review if you want. Oh and if you have any suggestions as to which House Harry should go to, don't be afraid to speak up.

-Atrocity.


	4. Chapter 4: Nevermore

Disclaimer" I don't own Harry Potter, if I did Fluffy would have eaten Ron in the first book (I'm mean I know. Fluffy deserves better).

A/N: Well the House results are in and are as stands:

Ravenclaw: 9

Slytherin: 2

Hufflepuff: 1

Gryffindor: -3 (Haha, I'm not kidding)

So there you have it.

I honestly never even dared to hope that this story would be as popular as it is, so I would once again like to thank everyone who review. My muse won't let me leave Damien out for a little while so he still makes appearences in this chapter. I had a bit of a writers block when I wrote this.

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter IV: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I Mean Hogwarts (Part IV: Nevermore)**

Harry shivered slightly. The air at the back of the train had gotten colder as night fell. He was also thankful that he had had the sense to change into his robes as they provided more warmth then his muggle clothes did. He wished that he had brought a book to read but resisted the urge to go back to his compartment to retrieve one.

He felt the train begin to slow and then come to a complete stop. Not wanting to take the chance of running into the Weasleys again he jumped off the back of the train and landed on the tracks. He adjusted his outfit before walking out to the platform. As he drew nearer to where the rest of the students were a loud booming voice reached his ears, "Firs' years, over here! Firs' years, this way!" The voice belonged to the biggest man Harry had ever laid eyes on. He had to be at least nine feet tall! He approached the man and stood near him. "Hello there, just wait around right there til the everyone's here." the man told him before doing a double take, "Harry? Is that you?"

Harry, annoyed at once again having attention drawn to him, answer a little snappily, "Yes it's me." He didn't like being rude to this man, who seemed be the cheerful type, but having just spent a good three hours sitting on the back of a train he wasn't feeling up to conversation at the moment.

The man took his attitude in stride and introduced himself, "I'm Rubeus Hagrid, I knew yer parents b'fore they died. Why I was the one who found you and carried you to safety. You were such a little tike back then. I didn't what to leave ya with them muggles but Dumbledore told me to so I had to give ya up, after all Dumbledore knows best. Great man, Dumbledore. A great man."

Harry was looking at him like he was mad. _**A great man! A great Manipulator maybe, if what Damien tells me is true.**_ Harry chose to stay silent while Hagrid continued calling for first years. Harry almost lost his temper again when Ron came up and stood next to him, "Hey Harry, where did you disappear to mate?" he asked like nothing had happened. Hermione did show up nearby but didn't approach him, it was as if she could tell that he was still on a short fuse. Harry had to give her credit for that, at least _she_ had brains. Unlike the thick moron that was currently standing next to him saying something Harry was paying no attention to.

Finally when all of the first years had been rounded up Hagrid led them to a small 'fleet' of rowboats. They all loaded in, Harry somehow ending up right between Hermione and Ron. _**What did I do to deserve this? God why do you hate me so much? I mean I can deal with Hermione but Weasley?**_ Harry gazed up at the castle, he had to admit that it was a magnificent structure.

They were half way across the lake when the surface of the water was disturbed and then broken by a large tentacle. The great appendage descended toward their boat but was blocked by Hagrid, who explained to them that the Giant Squid had a habit of knocking first years into the water at the start of each year.

They reached the shore without further indecent and Hagrid led them to the entrance hall where they were met by a stern looking woman in green robes and a black witch's hat.

"Welcome to Hogwarts."

**IIII**

Damien was bored, ever since he had left Harry at the platform that morning he had slowly come to realize that now that Harry was at Hogwarts, which was out of his 'jurisdiction', he had nothing to do. **_Maybe I should hunt down another job._**

As he thought this he heard a tapping noise coming from his window. He looked in the direction of the sound and spied an eagle owl waiting on his window sill. He pushed himself off his couch and opened the window and let the bird in. it landed on his table and stuck its leg out for him. He untied the letter and the owl flew back out the window. He broke the seal and unfolded the parchment, it read:

_ Mr. Lynch,_

_ I have a job for you. Meet at the usual place._

_ You know the drill, come alone, don't be late._

_ The meeting time is 7:00 tomorrow morning._

_ Details will be revealed on arrival._

_ Don't keep me waiting._

_ -B_

Damien sighed, _**me and my big mouth. When I said a job this wasn't what I meant. Oh well. I guess I'll have to show and at least see what the job is.**_

__He balled the parchment up and tossed it into the air before drawing his wand and blasting it to oblivion. He then dropped back onto his couch to wait for tomorrow.

**IIII**

"Welcome to Hogwarts, my name is Professor McGonagall," the woman said, "now in a few moments you will pass through these doors and be sorted. For those of you who don't know, the houses are Ravenclaw: the house for those of intellect, Hufflepuff: the house of the loyal, Gryffindor: the house of the brave, and Slytherin: the house for those of cunning. Now, please wait here." With that she disappeared through a door off to the side.

"So, it's true, Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Harry turned to see who was speaking and came face to face with a pointy-faced blonde boy. The was familiar somehow. Then it came to him.

"Aren't you that boy I shoved on the train?"

The boys face reddened but he didn't answer the question. "This Crabbe and Goyle," he said pointing to the large boys on either side of him, "and I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Ron snorted at this causing Draco to look at him with a sneer. "You think my name is funny do you? Well I've no need to ask your. Red hair, a hand-me-down robe, a clueless expression and absolutely no intelligence to speak of, you must be a Weasley." **_Damn, he's good. He it all in one go._**

"You'll soon discover that some wizarding families are better than others Potter, I can help you there." he stuck out his hand with a smirk.

**_Wait, this guy belittles someone then turns around and practically says that he's better than everyone and expects me to just go with that. I don't think so._** "I think I'll be fine on my own thanks."

Malfoy looked a little lost for a second then his face reddened again. He was about to retort but at that moment Professor McGonagall returned, "They are ready for you now, follow me."

Ron walked up closer to Harry, "Thanks for standing up for me mate," he said with a grin.

"What makes you think that had anything to do with you Weasley?"

Ron ignored the question.

They followed McGonagall into the Great Hall. As they walked down the aisle between two tables Harry looked up at the ceiling which was a life-like depiction of the night sky as it was outside. "It's not real, the ceiling. It's bewitched to look like the night sky. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." **_Impressive._**

They reached the front of the Hall. Before them sat a stool, on the stool was an old wizard's hat which began to sing some horrible song about the Houses and the founders of Hogwarts. When it finished there was sparse applause around the room, then McGonagall unrolled a scroll and picked up the hat.

"Now, When I call your name you will step forth, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and it will sort you into your Houses. Abbott, Hannah."

Harry watched a small blonde girl step up and sit on the stool, after a few seconds the Hat yelled out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The students at the Hufflepuff table all cheered.

After that was Susan Bones who was sorted into Hufflepuff as well. Then Terry Boot was sorted into Ravenclaw, Lavender Brown to Gryffindor, Millicent Bulstrode to Slytherin, Michael Corner to Ravenclaw, Vincent Crabbe to Slytherin (_**how he was considered cunning, I have no idea**_), Tracey Davis was also sorted to Slytherin, Justin Finch-Fletchey to Hufflepuff, Seamus Finnigan to Gryffindor, Gregory Goyle to Slytherin (_**how?**_).

"Granger, Hermione."

Harry focused back on what was going on, having spaced out during the long list of meaningless names. Hermione stepped forward and sat on the stool looking rather nervous. McGonagall sat the hat on her head. After a moment the hat yelled out "GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table cheered but Hermione seemed a little disappointed.

The list of meaningless names continued: Daphne Greengrass to Slytherin, Su Li to Ravenclaw, Neville Longbottom to Gryffindor, Ernie Macmillan to Hufflepuff, Draco Malfoy to Slytherin (_**before the hat even touched his head!**_) Theodore Nott to Slytherin, Pansy Parkinson also to Slytherin, Padma Patil to Ravenclaw and her twin sister Parvati to Gryffindor.

"Potter, Harry."

The Hall went quiet. Harry approached the stool and sat. He felt the hat land on his head and suddenly a voice spoke in his head. "_Hmm, difficult, plenty of courage, excellent mind, talent and thirst to prove yourself. Ah but here, a refusal to follow blindly or bent to the will of others. Hmm you would do well in Gryffindor. Or Slytherin perhaps? No, I've got it..."_

"RAVENCLAW!"

There was silence then the Ravenclaws burst into applause, Harry removed the Hat and began walking to the Ravenclaw table. He could see the Weasleys all looking worried and Dumbledore looked like someone had slapped him. Harry smirked at this. He also caught sight of Hermione clapping rather enthusiastically, this confused him.

Harry sat and waited for the sorting to end. Zacharias Smith was sorted to Hufflepuff, Dean Thomas to Gryffindor, Ronald Weasley to Gryffindor (_**poor Hermione**_) and lastly Blaise Zabini to Slytherin.

McGonagall spoke again after the last student had been sorted, "Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words."

Dumbledore visibly composed himself before standing, "Welcome, to a new year at Hogwarts. I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce: first years please note that the Forbidden Forest is...well forbidden. Also, our caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that the third floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to any who do not wish to die a violently painful death and that the list of banned items can be found on the door to his office. Now let the feast begin."

The table in front of Harry magically filled with food. Harry filled his plate with moderate sized portions and began to eat.

**IIII**

Damien was still bored. He had already wasted a few hours by redecorating his entire flat, from top to bottom, with and without magic. He was going crazy with nothing to do. He never thought he would grow as attached to Harry as he had in the few weeks since he had saved the boy but now he found himself missing his 'little brother Harry' as they had introduced him in public.

He sighed and dropped face-first to the couch. He soon drifted off to sleep.

**IIII**

Harry was just starting on his desert when he felt eyes boring into his back. He turned and found that one of the professors was staring at him. The man seemed to be in his mid-thirties with longish black hair and dressed in long black robes. He turned to an older student who had introduced herself as Penelope Clearwater, a Prefect. " Excuse me, Penelope. Who is that?"

Penelope looked to where he was pointing, "Oh, that's Professor Snape, he teaches potions." Harry nodded in thanks and returned to his meal, he felt Snape watching him for the rest of the meal.

After the feast ended Harry and the other Ravenclaw first years followed Penelope to the common room. He was amused to find that in order to enter the common room one had to answer a riddle. After they were let in Harry immediately went to his dorm. Hedwig sat in the window, so Harry quickly penned a letter to Damien telling him that he had been sorted into Ravenclaw and sent it off with Hedwig before going to bed.

**IIII**

Damien clutched his briefcase tighter as he navigated the streets of Knockturn Alley. He soon found himself standing before a rundown building with a broken sign that displayed its name. The Blackened Heart was a sleazy, out of the way wizarding pub. It was an extremely popular pub for many of the denizens of filth that occupied Knockturn ally. Inside one could find almost anything they desired, from liquor to drugs to whores.

Damien pushed open the door and headed in, making for an empty table near the back. As soon as he sat down he was approached by a scantily clad young women who didn't even look old enough to have Graduated Hogwarts yet. "Hey there, handsome. Fancy a fuck?" she asked rather bluntly.

"No," Damien answered without hesitation.

She pouted, "Aw why not? I'll give you a discount." She smiled in what she must have thought was a seductive manner.

"No, now piss off."

She left with a huff.

"You still don't know how to treat a woman do you?"

Damien winced and turned to face the speaker. "Obviously not if you call that a woman. I call it disgraceful. Now why have you contacted me Borgin?"

Borgin chuckled, "still as forward as ever. What no chat between old friends?"

"We are not nor have ever been friends Borgin. Now get to the point."

Borgin chuckled again and took the seat across from him. "I need you to do a job."

"Obviously."

"Don't get smart! Now, it's a very simple job. There's a new shop that just opened up a few blocks down from mine. The owner is some half-blood who thinks that he can just set up shop were ever he wants,"

"Well, technically he can."

"No, not in my neighborhood. So I need him gone."

"You want me to get rid of your competition?"

"Yeah. Look I'll leave the details up to you. Just make sure it gets done by the weekend. The shops name is Orion's Artifacts. Come to the shop when it's done and you'll get you pay."

Damien considered for a moment, "How much is the pay?"

"One."

"Ten."

"No deal."

"Fine, five."

Borgin was about to protest but Damien cut him off, "Five or you can find someone else."

Borgin looked conflicted. "Fine. Deal." he said eventually. A white light flashed around them signifying that the agreement had been acknowledged by their magic. If either tried to back out then the consequences could be catastrophic. "Good, now that's out of the way where did that girl go?"

Damien shook his head in disgust before heading for the exit and apparating to an alley near his flat. He then went back to his flat, he really felt that he needed a shower.

**IIII**

Harry dressed, grabbed his book-bag and hurried to the Great Hall for breakfast. He sat at the end of the table closest to the door and made himself a plate of eggs and bacon. The food here was good but didn't even come close to what Damien cooked. Even something as simple as scrambled eggs was turned into a culinary masterpiece when Damien made it. During his rather disappointing breakfast Professor Flitwick, a half-goblin and his Head of House, passed out the course schedules for that term.

He had Transfiguration first, followed by potions. _**Hmm,this should be an interesting morning. **_He spent the rest of breakfast reviewing his texts.

Transfiguration wasn't as spectacular as he had thought it would be. Sure learning how to change something into something completely different would be cool, if that was what they had done. No, McGonagall made them write a short essay then told them to write another for homework! He certainly hoped that potions would be better.

He somehow had ended up sitting next to Hermione, who took the opportunity to apologize for her actions on the train again, he told her that it was OK just not to do it again. She then tried to strike up a conversation about the material in their text books but she was interrupted by the door to the classroom banging open.

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class," Professor Snape told them. "As it is, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the Art that is potion-making." Snape crossed his arms. "In this class I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory or put a stopper on death. If you would just PAY ATTENTION!"

Harry, who had been taking notes about what he had been saying, jumped when Snape raised his voice.

"Mr. Potter, our new celebrity. Come, let us test your intelligence. Prove to me, are you worthy to call yourself a Raven?" He spoke slowly in an almost menacing fashion. "Tell me would you get if you added Powdered Root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air but Snape ignored her. Harry took a breath, "Asphodel and Wormwood come together along with Valerian Roots, Sloth Brain and the juice of the Sopophorous Bean to make a powerful sleeping potion called the Draught of Living Death. Sir." he added the 'Sir' as an afterthought, after all Damien had told him that being respectful can do wonders.

Snape wasn't impressed, "Where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Hermione's hand once again shot into the air and was again ignored.

"In the stomach of a goat, sir."

"And what is its use?"

"It is a cure for most poisons, sir."

Snape again was not impressed. "Mr. Potter what is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?" Hermione, not having put her hand down was again ignored by Snape, though Harry kept glancing at her as if to tell Snape to ask her instead.

"There is no difference as they are the same plant. It also goes by the name Aconite, sir."

Snape sneered before raising his voice to the entire class, "Why aren't you all writing this down?" There was a flurry of movement as everyone rushed to open their notebooks, and Hermione finally lowered her hand, lest they incur their Professor's wrath. Snape studied Harry for a moment before speaking again, "Ravenclaws please note that ten points will be taken from your House for your Housemates cheek." There was a collective groan from the Ravenclaws, "Mr. Potter please stay after class so I may assign your detentions."

Harry wasn't sure if was more shocked or angry, "What detentions!"

"The ones I just gave you," Snape said with a smirk and walked away.

**IIII**

Azkaban prison was not a pleasant place, Damien decided. After the necessary security check and assuring the guard that he could easily perform the Patronus Charm he was finally allowed to enter the dreary facility.

An hour later found him standing outside the cell of the notorious Sirius Black. The weak shell of a man he saw before him was nothing like the stories he had heard in his teenage years. He was simply a shadow of his former self as Azkaban had robbed him of whatever life remained long ago.

The effect the Dementors had on mortals was intriguing and Damien decided that it was time to let his inner Slytherin out to play. **_Perhaps if I used Legilimency to bring for the deepest darkest memories in enough force...no that wouldn't work...perhaps creating false memories of unspeakable horrors would be enough to break the mind...maybe...if not I can always just...hmm the Draught of Living Death combined with...no, there is till a chance of survival and sanity...potions are out of the question...I need to break him beyond any hope of repair...what to do...what to do..._**

****Damien snapped out of his musings when the man before him began to mutter incoherently. **_I really wish I had the time to study the Dementor's effects in depth but time is short._**

"Damien? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, Remus, I was merely pondering the medical effects that a Dementor has on one's psyche. It is rather interesting."

Remus came stand next Damien and looked at the skeletal form that was Sirius Black. "Paying a visit to an old friend." Damien nodded in understanding, he had heard the stories. "He's the reason you know."

Damien looked curious, "What?"

"The reason, for our decision to hire you. It was at this very spot that I made the decision along with 'S'. There was a time when Sirius had mentioned interest in being a Mercenary like yourself, said that it was better because they chose their own hours and got paid more. And made more of a difference in the long run. I made a few inquiries and your name came up more than once. So I sent you a letter and the rest is history."

"So," Damien began, "He is unintentionally responsible for my saving Harry's life?"

"Yes, he is."

"So, is that enough for you to forgive him for what they say he did?"

"No...well maybe...we'll see. I want to forgive him almost as much as I want to believe that he didn't do it." Remus suddenly looked very tired.

"Are you okay Remus?" Damien asked concerned.

Remus nodded, "I'm fine, just not feeling well. I think it's this place. I shall depart. Take care Damien."

"You too Remus. You too."

**IIII**

As he had been told Harry stayed behind after class. Snape, as soon as the door closed, sighed and relaxed. "Tell me Mr. Potter how was your summer?"

Harry was confused by this question, "Um, I'm not sure I follow you Professor."

Snape smirked at this, "Tell me Mr. Potter, how long have you been in touch with Damien Lynch?"

Harry was taken aback by the distaste in Snape's voice when he said Damien's name. "Uh.. I don't know what you're-"

"Don't lie to me Potter, I have it on good authority that you have had frequent contact with the man."

"Well your good authority is wrong sir, I know no one by that name." Harry wasn't sure why but he felt that he should protect Damien, in any way possible.

"Are you sure? Dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin, a fondness for dramatics and annoyingly polite? Ring any bells?"

"No, sir."

Snape drew his wand, Harry tensed. "What I told you that I will kill you if you don't tell the truth?"

"No."

Snape once again studied Harry for a moment. Then he did something Harry was not expecting, he smiled. "Good Potter, never betray your friends even under pressure. An admirable quality. I must admit I am impressed. You are so unlike your father in every way, except your looks."

Harry was baffled, "You-you knew my father?"

"Unfortunately."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Snape ignored the question, "Run along now, we wouldn't want you to be late for Charms, especially since the Professor is your Head of House."

Harry was now even more confused, "But what about my detentions?"

Snape raised an eyebrow, "What detentions Mr. Potter?"

Harry began to take slow deliberate steps toward the door, "Um, never mind." With that he pulled open the door and ran.

**IIII**

A/N: well there is that I personally think this is my worst chapter, it just has poor content. I had a hard time writing Snape, especially the way I wanted him, and as a result the end is kind of rushed. I apologize for that. Though I did like writing Damien in his natural environment. Review if you want or if you have any suggestions that may help me improve later chapters. I would also welcome suggestions for Harry/Hermione interactions (Romance is not my strong point.).

-Atrocity.


	5. Chapter 5: On Raven's Wings

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Or The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe.

A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews. Still have a bit of writers block but oh well.

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter V: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I Mean Hogwarts (Part V: On Raven's Wings)**

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and so many other titles that people can't remember or don't even care to try, was not having a pleasant day. The main reason for this was Harry Potter. First the Sorting Hat disobeyed his instructions to place the boy in Gryffindor, then he had received a letter from Molly Weasley telling him that her children were unable to meet Harry at the station because of one Damien Neil Lynch.

Dumbledore remembered Mr. Lynch from his Hogwarts days. Muggle-born, sorted to Slytherin, shunned by his house-mates, top of his class. If what the rumors about him said was true then he was as bad as they come. He had asked around his contacts about him and none of the information about him was encouraging.

**_I fear that if young Harry continues to have interaction with Mr. Lynch then his time spent at the Dursleys will all have been for nothing._** Dumbledore sat in his office for the rest of the morning trying to come up with a way to bring Harry under his influence.

**IIII**

Harry ran the entire way to charms class, his encounter with Snape replaying over and over in his mind. _**What was that all about? How does he know Damien?**_ He arrived at Professor Flitwick's classroom and entered.

"Ah, Mr. Potter so kind of you to join us," the tiny Professor stated merrily as Harry took the only available seat, which had apparently been saved for him by Hermione.

"Sorry, Professor, I was-"

"No need to explain, Ms. Granger told me that Professor Snape asked you to stay behind."

Harry looked at Hermione, who turned slightly pink and shrugged. Class went by fairly quickly as did the rest of the day.

The next day in potions Snape seemed to act normal, well what he thought was normal. After lunch they went outside for their first flying lesson. Madam Hooch was a stern looking woman with gray hair and yellow hawk-like eyes, she seemed to be pretty far along in age but had an energy about her that told a different story.

"Good afternoon class." She said as she approached them, they all replied in kind. "Welcome to your first flying lesson. Now before we start, let me say this: I don't care how good you _think_ you are or how often your parents let you fly at home. Here you will follow my rules and instructions or I will make sure you never touch a broom on school property again. Is that in any way unclear?" Malfoy and Ron both looked annoyed by this but said nothing. When she got no protests she nodded, "Good. Now everyone step up to the left side of your broomstick and place your right hand over the broom." Everyone did so. "Now say 'Up'."

"Up." the entire class said as one. Harry's broom flew immediately to his hand, as did Malfoys on his second try. He watched the others around him trying to get their brooms to respond and failing.

"Up." Hermione said clearly. Her broom just did a strange flop and fell still again.

Ron wasn't having any luck either see as his broom had just decided to introduce its handle to Ron's face. Needless to say Ron was not happy. He continued to shout 'up' at it until it 'jumped' and spun and struck him in a particularly sensitive area of his anatomy. Harry snorted as Ron doubled over in pain.

Harry had been too busy watching Ron's broom show its dislike for the red head and failed to notice that everyone else had succeeded with their brooms and were watching as well until he heard a chorus of giggles behind him. He turned and saw almost everyone trying to hide their laughter.

After Ron finally regained his feet Madam Hooch simply ordered him to pick up his broom. "Now that you've got your brooms I want you to mount them. Grip the handle tight so as to prevent you from slipping off the end. Now I want you all to kick from the ground hard, hover, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On three: One, two, three."

On three they all pushed off, Harry came to hover at about twenty feet up, Hermione a little below him looking extremely nervous. Malfoy was a little under even with Harry and Ron...well Ron wasn't doing so well. It was in this moment that Neville Longbottom's broom decided to malfunction. When he tried to hover, it wouldn't respond and continued to rise higher and higher. It then went out of control. In the end Neville fell from his broom and broke his wrist as well as dislocated his shoulder.

"Everyone is to keep their feet on the ground while take Mr. Longbottom to the Hospital Wing. If I see a single broom in the air the one riding it will be expelled."

_**How cheap is this school? Do they not have enough money to at least buy new brooms for the students to learn on? What is Dumbledore thinking letting first years ride ancient, piece of crap brooms like these?**_ Harry thought as he watched Madam Hooch and Neville disappear into the castle.

"Ha! Did you see his face? Maybe if he'd given this a squeeze he would have remembered to fall on his fat arse." Draco said holing up a small clear ball.

"Hand it over Malfoy," Harry told him.

Malfoy smirked, "No." He then mounted his broom, "But if you want it so bad, come and get it." With that he shot off into the air. Without hesitation Harry swung his leg over his broom. He was about to kick off when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Harry, don't do it. He's just trying to get you into trouble."

Harry ignored Hermione's warning and rose into the air. When he came level with Draco he once again requested that he give him the 'ball'. "Hand it over Malfoy or I'll knock you off your broom!"

"Is that so Potter?" Draco asked mockingly and dodged to the side when Harry lunged at him. "Have it your way then." He said with a shrug, then drew his arm back and threw the 'ball' as hard as he could before rocketing back to the ground. Harry raced after the 'ball' and caught it just before he slammed into the castle with his shoulder. He groaned but held on to his broom, he then slowly lowered himself to the ground.

As soon as he landed he was swarmed by the other students. He handed the 'ball' off to one of the Gryffindors and clutching his shoulder. Before anyone could ask him if he was OK a voice called out to him.

"Mr. Potter!"

Harry turned to see Professor Flitwick standing just outside the entrance to the castle. _**Dammit, why does Hermione have to be right? Guess I should have listened. **_"Come with me," the diminutive Professor said. Harry let out a resigned sigh and handed his broom to a worried Hermione before following.

**IIII**

Damien stood hidden in an alleyway across from Orion's Artifacts. The shop's owner Bartholomew Orion, a middle-aged man with short dirty blonde hair and a square chin, had just opened up his store for the day. He was watching the man's daily routine and checking for any notable variations in his schedule.

A short dirty man who looked more like a walking pile of rags than a human entered the shop. He approached the counter where Mr. Orion stood and pulled something from his coat and show it to him. After a few minutes of conversation Mr. Orion took the object and handed the man a stack of gold. The man took the gold and exited then disappeared down the street.

An idea struck Damien, _**That could allow me to get in closer to him, just have to find something...or not...no, it wouldn't be necessary. It's not like he would know.**_ Damien gave a nod before returning to his flat.

**IIII**

Flitwick led Harry into his office and shut the door. "Have a seat Mr. Potter." Harry did so. Professor Flitwick peered at Harry over his desk. "Would you mind telling me why you were flying without supervision, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes Professor. Well, you see, Neville Longbottom from Gryffindor was hurt when his broomstick malfunctioned and had to be taken to the Hospital Wing by Madam Hooch. When he fell he must have dropped that ball thing and Malfoy took it. I told him to give it to me so I could return it to Neville but he refused and then told me to 'come and get it' then flew off into the air. I followed and he threw the 'ball' so I chased after it and caught it. Then you came out there." Once Harry finished his explanation Flitwick nodded.

"And where is this 'ball' now?"

"I gave it one of the Gryffindors so that they could give it back to Neville."

"Can anyone else bear witness to your story?"

"Yes sir, the entire class saw it."

Professor Flitwick nodded again, "Very well Potter, I'm not going to expel you seeing as you were helping another student but I'm afraid I must give you a detention. And take twenty points from Ravenclaw."

Harry nodded in acceptance of his punishment. "Your detention will be served tomorrow at eight here in my office. Now run along Mr. Potter." Harry stood to leave. "Oh and Mr. Potter, I must say: that was some impressive flying, perhaps you will try out for the Quidditch team next year."

Harry smiled doubtfully, "Perhaps."

"And one more thing, I would stop by the Hospital Wing and have Madam Pomfrey have a look at that shoulder."

Harry again nodded and exited the office.

**IIII**

Dumbledore still had not come up with a way to bring Harry under his influence. It was now mid-afternoon and nothing had come to him.

He decided to adopt a watch and wait approach for the time being.

**IIII**

After making a quick stop at the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey told him that he had just bruised his shoulder pretty badly but she fixed him up fairly quickly, Harry was now sitting in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione was questioning him on what Professor Flitwick when the door opened to admit their Professor. Quirrell was an extremely pale (almost sickly looking) man in his late twenties or early thirties, he wore a ridiculous purple turban on his head and had a stuttering problem.

"G-good afternoon c-class," he greeted as he stood in front of the class. When he turned to write something on the blackboard Harry felt a sharp pain shoot through his head where his scar was. He pressed his palm to it and gritted his teeth. _**W-what the hel-Aah! What's going on?**_

__"Harry? Harry are you okay?" Hermione's voice asked from beside him.

"Yeah," he answered through clenched teeth, "Yeah I'm fine."

Hermione looked skeptical but didn't press the issue. The rest of the class passed without incident but the pain didn't go away, only lessened when Quirrell turned to face them again.

_**What is going on? My scar has never given me pain before, so why now?**_

__The rest of the week passed quickly and before Harry knew it the weekend had arrived.

**IIII**

Damien entered the shop and glanced around. The shelves were filled with a wide assortment of items. He took a moment to examine a cup that appeared to be made of gold and was engraved with an animal that he thought was a badger. _**Hmm, that is rather nice.**_

Pulling away from the cup he turned and walked to the counter. "Good day, sir. See anything you like?"

Damien shook his head, "No, but I do have something I wish to sell."

Mr. Orion's eyes lit up, "Okay, then. Let's see it."

"Perhaps we could do this somewhere where no one can see, I don't want anyone to know about this," Damien said. The last part of this was true at least. Damien wanted no witnesses.

Mr. Orion looked intrigued, "Very well, let us adjourn to my office, shall we?"

"Yes, we shall."

Orion led him into a small room behind the counter, the only furniture in the room was desk two chairs and a half-full book case. Orion walked around to sit behind his desk and folded his arms. "Okay, let's see it."

Damien silently cast a soundproofing charm on the room then looked into the man's eyes, _**Legilimens!**_

Mr. Orion went stiff, then he began to shiver violently as Damien sent him a feeling of intense cold. Then he screamed. They were everywhere, the crows. Pecking at his eyes and tearing his flesh with their sharp beaks and talons. He thrashed about, trying to fight off his imaginary torrmentors. Damien cast a full body bind on him to keep him from running. This continued for a little under an hour before he lifted the spell. Orion stared out blankly from his now empty eyes.

Damien left the office and headed towards the door. _**And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor  
Shall be lifted - nevermore!**_

**IIII**

A/N: A shorter chapter. And a bit rushed at the end. I think in the next chapter I'll skip ahead a bit in time. Maybe Halloween, move the story along further. Well as always review if you want. Even if its just to say its good or to point out any mistakes I may have made. A note on Harry's personality: this chapter starts a sort of evolution of his personality as he becomes a bit more receptive of other, chiefly Hermione.


	6. Chapter 6: A Thousand Tears

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that is recognizable.

A/N: some have asked why Damien did what he did. I'll explain: 1) He had to complete his job in a way that could not be traced back to him. 2) I had to show that Damien is not a Saint nor is he an evil person as is seen in this chapter. And I wrote it the way I did because I'm a huge fan of good old-fashioned Horror/Suspense/Thriller stories. For those of you who are Naruto fans, try to think of what Damien did in the last chapter as similar Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan: Tsukuyomi, only worse.. Oh and I have a fondness for Ravens/Crows as well as Edgar Allen Poe, so yeah. This is a better chapter, I think. My writer's block seems to have lifted for the time being.

Oh and a note about the classes: I have taken a few liberties with these, chief among these is that the Ravenclaws have classes with the Gryffindors instead of the way it is in canon: Gryff/Slyth and Raven/Puffs. And the only class that has ALL Houses in it at the moment is Flying. I will probably not focus too much on classes as they hold little importance to the story at the moment, anything important pertaining to them will be mentioned though.

Now on with the story.

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter VI: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I Mean Hogwarts (Part VI: A Thousand Tears)**

Damien Left the shop with an emotionless expression on his face. He entered Borgin & Burke's and walked up to Borgin.

"Ah, Mr. Lynch. Is it done?" he asked with a sick smile.

"It is," Damien replied, his voice dead.

"Good, good. Is he dead?"

"He is."

Good, good. Was it painful?"

"It was."

"Excellent! Now here is your money." He handed Damien a coin purse.

Damien barely glanced at it as he tucked it away, "I never want to receive another summon from you again. If I do, it will be you who suffers." Borgin did not take this well.

"Now listen to me, boy. I call, you show. Got it? I own you, you filthy mudblood."

"Not anymore. Now I bid thee farewell. If I never see you again it will be too soon." With that Damien left and aparated home, leaving a fuming Borgin in his wake.

He stepped up to his door, the atrocity he had just committed replaying over and over in his minds eye. He held his composure until he crossed the threshold and closed the door. He leaned against the door and sunk to the floor as the first tears began to fall. He remembered it all in detail. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wept.

He awoke the next morning still in front of the door. His eyes were sore from his tears and his body ached from sleeping on the floor in such an uncomfortable position. He forced himself to stand and went to the kitchen to put on some tea. It was then that he noticed an owl at his window.

"Hedwig?" Hedwig hooted an affirmative. Damien opened the window and set out some water and chicken from the fridge for her before untying the letter attached to her leg.

_Dear Damien,_

_I hope this letter finds you well._

_Today my scar started hurting, it has never given me any trouble before so this worries me._

_It may just be nothing but I have noticed that it only hurts when I'm near Professor Quirrell, my Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (he's rubbish by the way). _

_Your friend,_

_Harry_

Damien reread the letter a few times. _**Well, that makes no sense. Why would it suddenly start causing pain after ten years? And just who is this 'Quirrell'? Perhaps a trip to the school is in order... no can't give Dumbledore any more reason to suspect than he already has. **_He pulled out a fresh piece of muggle paper and began writing.

_Harry,_

_This news about your scar troubles me._

_Normally I would come up there to the school but let's just say that with Dumbledore there it would be hard for me to get passed the gates._

_If you need me or if something happens that is more life threatening then I'll be there but until then keep me updated and I'll do some research to see if I can find anything on curse marks._

_Your friend,_

_D. Lynch_

He nodded in satisfaction then tied it to Hedwig who departed. This was not a good sign in Damien's opinion. He set off to his room and began to scan through the titles on his bookshelf for anything that could shed some light on the subject, though he found it hard to concentrate with the memory of razor talons and black feathers flashing through his mind.

**IIII** 10/31/91 Halloween.

Harry awoke early that morning and, after showering and dressing for the day, made his way down to the common room. He took a seat near the fireplace and began to proofread his essay for Snape. He felt the couch move slightly as someone took a seat next to him. He looked over and found Michael Corner digging through his bag for his own essay. He and Michael had become friends not long after the Malfoy/Broom incident. On the surface he was similar to Harry, projected an unapproachable aura and slightly aloof, but when amongst friends he was more laid back and relaxed.

"Morning, Harry," Michael said with a grin.

Harry returned the smile, "Morning." Over the last month or so Harry had begun to lose his mistrust of others, due mainly to the efforts of Hermione, who had taken to sitting next to him in every class as well as walking with him between classes and joining him, Michael and their other friend Padma Patil for study sessions in the library four times a week. Ron Weasley had tried to join them until he found out why they were gathering at which time he left saying that they were wasting their lives by reading all the time instead of having fun. Other than that Harry had had very little interaction with the Weasleys though he did on occasion speak to the Twins when they weren't trying to prank someone (which he still considered childish and immature).

"Hey, Michael. Did you find all of the uses for Dittany? I think I missed one."

Michael looked up from his own essay to look at Harry, "Let me see yours." Harry handed it to him and waited as he read it. "You missed that it is used as a key ingredient of the Wiggenweld Potion," Michael told him as he handed the essay back to Harry.

"Oh, thanks. Let's see that would be chapter...fourteen," Harry said flipping through the pages of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.

At breakfast Harry and Michael were having a rather intense debate on the House Point system, Michael was in favor of it as it encouraged students to try harder in class and not get into trouble; Harry, while conceding Michael's point, was against it as it promoted inter-house rivalry and hostility, Michael accepted this as a valid point. The argument wasn't settled but they both just decided to agree to disagree on this particular subject. Padma had joined them for breakfast and they all double checked each others essays, even Hermione made an appearance at their table to help with the reviewing.

They all entered Professor McGonagall's classroom and took there usual seats near the front, with Harry next to Hermione and Michael next to Padma. Today they were learning how to turn a matchstick into a needle. Hermione of course got it almost immediately followed by Harry, they had a bit of a friendly rivalry going to see who could master the course work quicker and who got the better grade. As things stood, Hermione was winning...barely. The four of them all had their specialties: Harry at Defense Against the Dark Arts, Padma at Charms, Michael at Potions and Hermione at...well everything.

Potions was interesting as always, Harry had discovered a pattern in Snape's treatment of him; while in class or public he would belittle or criticize him, in other words acting 'normal', but when they were alone for detention or just passing in a deserted corridor he was...nicer. Quite frankly it unnerved him. He had sent a letter to Damien about it but his 'mentor' had no idea as to why the notoriously bitter potions master would act this way. He also could find no reason as to why Harry's scar was bothering him, a fact that disappointed Harry as he figured that if anyone could help him then it would be Damien. Maybe he was unfairly thinking that Damien was some all-knowing individual with an answer to everything. Was he becoming too dependent on him? It was something to consider, he didn't like having to rely too heavily on others as it made him feel like a burden. This was one of the reasons he studied so much, so as to not have to beg Hermione or Michael for help with his homework (he knew for certain that they, Hermione especially as Ron Weasley always bothered her with it at the last minute but treated her horribly the rest of the time, hated having to help those who simply didn't try).

Charms was usually fun, Flitwick just had a way about him that made any lesson seem fun, perhaps it was his energy and positive attitude that caused this. Today they where learning to levitate objects (in this case: a feather).

"One of a wizard's-" Hermione cleared her throat loudly, "...and Witch's," Flitwick added with an apologetic smile at Hermione, who smiled, "...most rudimentary skills is levitation. Now, do all of you have a feather?" Hermione quickly held hers up. "Good, now do you remember the wand movement? The Swish and Flick. Practice it now." The class did so. When everyone had done it a few times he spoke again, "Now enunciate: _Wingardium Leviosa."_

When he finished speaking the class began to attempt the spell. Ron who was on the far side of Hermione just yelled the incantation like he was some stupid muggle superhero and began repeatedly waving his wand at his feather.

"Stop, stop, stop! Your going to take someones eye out. Besides you waving your wand around like a buffoon is not the proper wand motion. On top of that you're saying it wrong!. It's _Levi-OH-sa _not _Leviosar,_" Hermione told him, trying to be helpful but coming across as bossy and a know-it-all, much to Ron's annoyance. He nastily told her to mind her own business and 'shut the hell up'. Of course he got even more annoyed when Hermione mastered the spell on her first try, earning ten points for Gryffindor. The only other incident of notice was when Seamus blew up his feather and Michael dove for cover under his desk, much to Harry's amusement he refused to come back out until some one had confiscated Seamus's wand and moved him away from where he was sitting.

After class the four friends were walking outside for their break when they heard Ron loudly insulting Hermione.

"..seriously, she's a bloody nightmare. It's no wonder nobody likes her, we all know that Potter only puts up with her because he feels sorry for her. After all, who would want to be friends with a mudblood like her?"

At that moment he went quiet as Harry's fist connected with his jaw. He fell to the ground and glared up at Harry, "What was that for Harry? I thought I was your friend."

Harry was furious, "What makes you think that I would ever want to be friends with an ignorant piece of shit like you Weasley?"

At that Michael had to add his two knuts worth, "Harry, calling Ron Weasley a 'piece of shit' is an insult to shit."

A few of the surrounding students laughed at this, but no one noticed that Hermione had run away in tears.

**IIII**

Hermione didn't care who saw her, she just ran until she reached the girl's bathroom and locked herself in one of the stalls. She sat down on the toilet lid, brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. **_What if what Ron says is true? What Harry does just feel sorry for me?_** This sent her into another bout of tears. She couldn't bear that thought as she genuinely liked Harry. **_But what if it's true?_**

She stayed there for the rest of the day trying to convince herself that Ron was lying. All the while the tears poured out her eyes like rivers.

**IIII**

**The crows circled the man, who stood shivering in the thick snow. Then as one they swooped down and began to tear at his flesh. Damien watched all this in horror as the man was slowly torn apart by the ravenous birds.**

** Then the scene changed and this time it was a younger Damien, maybe eight or nine years old. He was walking down a dirt road towards a small wooden house. He could see his grandmother standing on the front porch waiting for him. He had just entered the yard when all of a sudden something hit him in the back and he felt a sharp pain tear across his flesh. Then another and another. The crows! He tried to fight them off but tripped. He forced his eyes closed and turned onto his stomach with his arms over his head as the birds continued to pick at him.**

** All the while his grandmother stood on the porch laughing.**

Damien awoke with a scream. He could still feel the pain. He looked down at his sweat covered body. Scars coated his arms, his legs, his chest and his back. He remembered that day very well. The crows had attacked him for the leftovers of his lunch on his way home from primary school. They hadn't stopped until he had run into the house and closed the door. His grandmother had told him that he should have just let the crows kill him, he'd be doing the world a favor. When she died a year later he had not attended the funeral, when the minister had asked him why he told him that he was glad that the old crone was dead. Lets just say that those words didn't improve his standing in the community.

He stood from his bed and entered his bathroom. He stripped himself of his sleepwear before stepping into a warm relaxing shower. He bowed his head as he felt the water wash away his memories and the tears that came with them.

**IIII**

Harry was getting worried. After the confrontation with Ron he hadn't been able to find her. She had also missed the rest of their classes, something was so un-Hermione like that Harry certain that it was a sign of the Apocalypse. Okay that was going a bit too far but still.

He was now sitting at dinner with Michael, Padma had made a trip over to the Gryffindor table to talk to her sister Parvati. She came running back to their table looking worried and irritated. "Parvati said that Hermione won't come out of the girl's bathroom near the dungeons. She said that she had been in there all day crying her eyes out. I swear when I get my hands on that Weasley.."

"Get in line. You and Michael can have what's left after I'm through with him." Harry said with murder in his eyes. He felt Michael's hand on his arm as he tried to stand.

"Harry, don't do it. He isn't worth it."

"No, but Hermione is." Harry snapped not really thinking of the implications of this statement.

"I understand but killing him won't fix anything."

**_Dammit,why does he have be so damn reasonable all the time?_** Harry was about to sit down when the doors to the Great Hall burst open to admit a frantic Professor Quirrell.

"Troll! There's a troll in the Dungeon!" he yelled, "Thought you ought to know." He then fainted."

Silence. Then utter pandemonium. Students everywhere where screaming and panicking. Michael was once again cowering under the table. Padma was slightly panicked but at least she wasn't screaming. Harry was just confused. Until his mind started working again.

"SILENCE!"

Silence..."Now, prefects will escort the students back to their dormitories. Teachers will follow me to the dungeon." Unbeknownst to anyone Dumbledore was throwing a little party in his head. He was thinking that this was a good time to remove Ms. Granger from the equation. Let the troll slip past them and then go into the girl's bathroom and eliminate her. It was foolproof.

Unfortunately for Dumbledore Harry was no fool, therefor his plan wasn't impervious to him. As soon as they exited the Great Hall he sprinted in the direction of where Hermione was. Absently he noted that Michael and Padma had followed him. He turned a corned and slid to a stop. There at the end of the hall was the troll, and it was entering the bathroom where Hermione was. Without hesitation he followed it.

When he entered the bathroom the first thing he saw was Hermione cowering under the sinks while the troll tried to hit her with its club.

"I'll go get help!" Padma said before she ran back out the door.

"_Stupefy!_" the red jet of light left Harry's wand and struck the troll in the side of the head. It wasn't fazed. Instead it began to swing its club at Harry.

While Harry dodged the trolls swings Michael had run over and pulled Hermione to near the door. That done he drew his wand and fired a stunner at the trolls back. The red light ricocheted off the trolls skin and came back to strike Michael in the chest. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. Hermione didn't notice as she was too busy watching Harry dodge the troll's club.

He jumped and rolled as best as he could but in the end it wasn't enough. He came out of a roll when troll brought its club swinging back towards him. He didn't have time to dodge and the club struck him square in the chest.

He couldn't breathe. His vision was fuzzy and growing dark at the edges. The troll raised its club above its head in preparation to finish Harry off. Without thinking Harry raised his wand at the large blob above him and rasped out the first spell that came to his mind.

"_Diffindo!_" He could hear Hermione calling for him but it sound like it was coming from a great distance. He closed his eyes as the darkness finally claimed him.

**IIII**

Hermione cried silently when she heard Harry's screams. Padma hugged her tighter. They were sitting inside the Hospital Wing, Harry was laying on a bed that was blocked off by curtains. His arms, legs and waist were strapped to the bed to keep him from thrashing about as whatever potion or spell Madam Pomfrey had used on his slowly and painfully stitched the bones in his upper body back together. Really Harry was lucky to have survived, Professors Snape, Flitwick and McGonagall had shown up with Padma just as Harry had cast his severing charm, which had miraculously struck the troll in the throat, ending its life.

Snape had carried Harry to the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore had appeared briefly, but he merely frowned when he saw Hermione unharmed and left again.

All that was left was to wait.

**IIII**

**A/N: I'm so sorry for ending this like this but my mind went blank and I couldn't come up with anything else for the moment. So sorry, don't Crucify me for this.**

**Oh and no Michael will not be a 'replacement' for Ron. He'll be so much better on the loyalty front and a lot more useful, despite his 'oops' moment in this chapter. There may be Michael/Padma or possibly Michael/Luna in later chapters. I haven't decided yet.**

**As always, review if you want. I love them all (at least the positive ones).**

**-Atrocity.**


	7. Chapter 7: No Quarter

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything that is recognizable.

A/N: I chose Michael and Padma as Harry's friends for a couple of reasons. 1) they were two of the few DA members from Ravenclaw that didn't desert Harry and they fought in the final battle alongside him. And because the film version of Michael was the type of person I was looking for, kind of darker and with a rebellious flair to him. And Padma just because she was one of the TWO Ravenclaw girls that I don't think of as a bitch. Damien gets a bit of spotlight time in this chapter. And Shows his 'sense of humor'.

Now that that is out of the way, on with the story!

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter VII: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I Mean Hogwarts (Part VII: No Quarter)**

**Black. It was all around him. He was floating through it like a sailor lost to the ocean's depths. Then a light appeared in front of him. He willed himself toward it. He entered the light and was soon lost in a memory.**

** He was five, after his first day of primary school. He lay sobbing in his cupboard after his uncle had beaten him for a reason that was unknown to him. All he did was ask what his name was because his teacher had told him that he had to learn to write it on his schoolwork. **

** The memory faded into another, this time when he was seven and he had used accidental magic to regrow his hair after his aunt had shaved it sloppily. She had used a thin leather belt to repeatedly whip him across his back before shoving him to the kitchen to cook breakfast. Then slapped him because the bacon was burnt. It wasn't his fault really, he could barely lift his arms let alone cook after the lashing she had given him.**

** This memory too faded into another. He was nine. Dudley and his gang had cornered him after school and began kicking him repeatedly in his face, his ribs, his back and anywhere else they could reach. They had left him there bleeding afterward and walked away laughing and congratulating each other. When Harry had finally made it home his uncle had blamed him for the injuries and beat him for costing him money for a hospital visit to get him fixed up. It was one of many visits that had occurred over the years.**

** This memory then faded to the most recent. The zoo. He felt every hit like it was actually happening again. Only this time there was no Damien to save him, just the bystanders who stood by doing nothing. He felt pain throughout his entire upper body. It felt as if his bones were breaking, mending then breaking again. He screamed but no sound escaped his throat.**

** Then all was white and he could hear a soft voice speaking to him, calling to him. It was familiar and definitely a female voice. He willed himself toward the voice and it began to grow louder and louder. He couldn't make out the words but the emotions were painfully obvious: pain, fear, sorrow...and some sort of affection. Then the voice left.**

** All was quiet until another voice began speaking. This voice was deep and male, yet no less worried or sorrowful. He could make out the words now. "...Harry, wake...you must wake...wake up."**

**IIII**

Harry's eyes slowly opened but he closed them again immediately as the light hit them. He tried again, with more success this time. He looked around but everything was a blurry mess of colors and obscure shapes.

"Well, it's about time." The deeper voice spoke from somewhere to his right. "Here," He felt the person press something into his hand. His glasses! He wasted no time in placing them on his face. As everything came into focus, what had just seconds ago been a dark blotch cleared up to reveal a frowning Damien. He had dark rings under his eyes from lack of sleep and his hair was messed up from running his hand though it repeatedly.

"Damien? What are you doing here?"

"Oh so that's the welcome I get? No 'hello' or 'how have you bee?' just 'what are you doing here?' shows how much care you have for my feelings."

Harry was amused at the way Damien was acting, "Damien, you seem stressed." He said this as innocently as he could manage.

Damien gave him an incredulous look before beginning a mini rant. "Stressed? Me? Me stressed? What reason could I have to be stressed? OH COARSE I'M STRESSED! I get an owl from my employers telling me that you were almost KILLED by a full grown mountain troll AT SCHOOL! How could I NOT be stressed! I think I have every right to be stressed!" Damien took a deep breath and counted to ten. "Now, I'm sorry for yelling but dammit if haven't been holding that in for three days."

Harry was shocked, "Wha-what do you mean 'three days'?"

"Damien took a seat on the chair beside Harry's bed, "Harry you've been out for four days. I only heard about it the day after. And before you ask, no I'm not mad at you. Your friends explained everything to me when I got here. Great bunch of kids by the way, especially that Hermione girl. I had to actually spike her drink so that she would get some sleep. She wouldn't leave your side, not even to eat or sleep or go to classes, which I gather from your other friends is not normal."

Harry chuckled lightly but stopped when it sent an ache through his chest. "That sounds like Hermione. So, where is she now?" he asked as pushed himself into a sitting position against the headboard of the bed with his pillow as support.

Damien smirked and pointed to the bed behind him. Harry looked at where he was pointing and there she was, still in her school clothes, curled up beneath the covers, sleeping peacefully. The sight made Harry smile softly. She was actually rather cute when she slept. He shook his head and looked back at Damien who had a knowing gleam in his eye. Harry once again noticed the dark rings under his eyes. "You know, you look like you could use some sleep yourself."

Damien dismissed this with a wave of his hand, "Trust me I will get some sleep soon but it won't be anywhere near this castle. Now that you're awake and I know that you're OK I'll be heading back to London. But not before I've had a few words with Dumbledore. Now if you'll excuse me."

With that Damien began to leave the room but before he did he waved his hand toward Hermione. Harry saw the girl begin to stir. _**Uh oh.**_ Hermione sat up in the bed and stretched her arms out above her head. She froze when she noticed Harry watching her and blushed a light pink. Then it seemed to click in her mind that Harry was awake. Before Harry could even formulate another thought he had the breath knocked out of him by a Hermione shaped missile. She squeezed him so hard that he couldn't breathe, "Her-Hermione...ca-can't b-breathe..."

She pulled back, "Oh I'm so sorry Harry! Are you OK? This is all my fault! How could I have been so stupid? If I hadn't let what Ron said get to me you wouldn't have gotten hurt." She continued on and it was only then that Harry noticed that she was crying. Without realizing it he reached up and softly wiped the tears away.

"Hermione," she looked at him, sniffling as more tears gathered in her eyes, "I don't blame you for what happened and I refuse to let you blame yourself."

"But-"

"No 'buts' Hermione. It's not your fault that the troll went into that bathroom while you were in there. It was just one of those freak coincidences. It. Is. Not. Your. Fault. Understand?"

She nodded.

"Good, now dry those tears." he said as he once again wiped away the tears that had fallen from her eyes. "And as for what Ron said, none of it was true. I'm your friend because I want to be, not because I feel sorry for you or any such rubbish." Hermione smiled brightly before giving him another crushing hug, but making sure not to hurt him this time. Harry awkwardly returned her embrace, but eventually melted into it. Hermione gave a contented sigh and closed her eyes, Harry did the same. This was the way that Michael and Padma found them when they entered the Hospital Wing a few minutes later. Hermione broke away at the sound of someone clearing their throat and both immediately missed the warmth provided, though Harry couldn't figure out why.

"Should we come back later?" Padma asked with a smirk. Hermione blushed and stood from the bed. "Well, we were just coming to see how you were doing Harry, but by the look of things you seem to be getting on just fine."

This time it was Harry's turn to blush, though he attempted to cover his embarrassment with a look of indifference. They all saw right through it. At that moment Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and ushered them out saying that 'Mr. Potter needs his rest'. She then forced him to drink two potions, one to continue the healing process and the other to help him sleep. He was out before his head hit the pillow.

**IIII**

Damien quickly made his way to the Headmaster's office. When he reached the stone guardian he spoke evenly and politely, "Great Guardian, I humbly request that you grant me entrance. I have an urgent matter that I must discuss with the Headmaster." Surprisingly it worked, the stone gargoyle stepped aside to allow him through. "You have my thanks." **_See? I wasn't lying. Being respectful and polite can work wonders._** He pushed the door to Dumbledore's office open without knocking. The old wizard turned to him with a surprised expression which quickly turned to annoyance when he saw who had entered his office unannounced.

"Mr. Lynch, have you not heard of knocking?"

"Yes, but I don't feel that you deserve the courtesy."

Dumbledore looked furious for a second but quickly forced it down and schooled his featured into that of a caring grandfather, his eyes complete with his signature twinkle, "What can I help you with Mr. Lynch? Would you like a lemon drop?"

Damien snorted, the act wasn't fooling him, "Don't play innocent with me you condescending old bastard. I know there was no way that troll could have gotten into the school, let alone attack a student, without your knowledge. Yet you claim to have not known that the troll had left the dungeon. Which brings me to a question: how the hell could a troll even get into the dungeons? I was a Slytherin, I spent _a lot_ of time down in those dungeons. There are no outside access points down there. That means someone had to let the troll in. And as this castle is filled with _intelligent_ portraits and ghosts, don't you think that it is your duty as Headmaster to thoroughly investigate this matter by questioning them? If you don't, then I will. And I can guarantee that my justice on the one responsible will be swift and painful. A _child _was nearly killed. No, scratch that, _two children_ were nearly killed. I refuse to let that slide, especially as those children are my friends. The culprit will receive no mercy from me, and if you stand in my way you will suffer the same gruesome fate. Is this in any way unclear?"

Dumbledore merely sat there, not speaking and unmoving. Damien took this as a sign that he understood.

"Good. I shall return tomorrow morning to begin _my_ investigation. You had better pray that you find them before I do." With that he exited the office and, after checking in on Harry, went to Hogsmead and rented a room above the Three Broomsticks for the night. Thinking back on his meeting with Dumbledore, the lemon drops had been laced with a Calming Draught and a strange variation of Amortentia that he could only guess was a potion meant to make the person who takes it trust Dumbledore. He was now glad that he had taught Harry's friends the detection spell and instructed them to use it before they ate, drank or smelled _anything_.

**IIII**

Dumbledore was not happy. How dare that insolent boy threaten him! He would make sure that he paid dearly for his folly. **_Besides, it doesn't matter who let that troll in._** He stood and made his way down to the Great Hall for dinner. Before he did though he made a stop by the kitchens and ordered the House Elves to put some 'special ingredients' in Ms. Granger's drink.

His plan was to poison the girl, then when she was dead Harry would fall into a pit of despair. When this happened he would appear to act as the understanding and sympathetic grandfather and take the boy under his wing. Then once he trusted him he could poison his mind against Mr. Lynch and soon his other friends as well. Then the boy would fulfill the role he had laid out for him at his birth. He had hoped to begin this plan when he learned of the troll but Potter had had to rush to the rescue.

The boy was too much of a wild card. This was something he had to remedy. And he would do it by any means necessary.

He entered the Great Hall and took his seat. He turned his gaze to where a certain Gryffindor was sitting in time to see her wave her wand over her goblet before pushing it away. She then checked the drink next to her and began drinking it.

Dumbledore was barely holding his anger in check.

**IIII**

Damien returned to the castle the next morning to discover that Dumbledore had not even _attempted_ to find the culprit. He also discovered that Harry was being released from the Hospital Wing and asked him if he would like to accompany him on his investigation. Harry accepted immediately.

They started with the portraits closest to the exit of the dungeons. They got their first clue fairly quickly, quicker than Harry had expected. Damien didn't look surprised.

"I didn't see anyone bring a troll in. As a matter of fact I didn't even see the troll until it came down the hall there," the man in the portrait pointed to the hall they had just come down, which led to the Entrance Hall.

Damien nodded, "Thank you for your time and cooperation."

They moved back to the Entrance Hall. Damien called to a passing ghost, which turned out to be The Gray Lady. "Excuse miss, could I have a moment of your time?"

"I suppose so," she said.

"Where were on the eve of this past Thursday?" Damien asked in a professional manner.

"I was on the fifth floor," she answered.

"Damien nodded again and repeated, "Thank you for your time and cooperation."

The Gray Lady nodded and disappeared through a wall.

"Well, that wasn't much help," Harry said.

"Wrong, everything helps. We just eliminated a suspect."

"You mean you suspect a ghost of doing this?" Harry asked incredulously.

"No, not the ghosts, except maybe Peeves but other that him, no. But the first rule of Investigation is this: No one is innocent until the case is closed. No one is above suspicion. Not even you, Harry... WHERE WERE YOU AT SEVEN O"CLOCK ON THE THIRTY-FIRST!"

Harry jumped back at this. "Wha-what!" Harry asked with a startled look on his face.

Damien laughed, "I'm kidding Harry." Damien grew serious again. "But what I said about the rules is true, no one is innocent until the culprit is caught, not even the victim."

"You can't possibly think that Hermione would do that!"

"No, I don't. That's just the rules I was taught during Auror training. Come, let's continue our search."

Damien approached another portrait, "Excuse me sir, may I have a moment of your time?"

"Oh, of coarse laddie. What can I do for ye?"

"On the eve of the 31st, last Thursday, a troll entered the school through this way, did you see anything?"

"As a matter o' fact I did. That odd Professor, let it in an' told it somethin' in a language I couldn' understand; it sounded like jus' a bunch o' grunting n' groaning. The troll then set off for tha dungeon area. The Professor then ran off to the Great Hall."

"Could you describe what the Professor looked like?"

"Yea, he was 'bout average height, an' wore a weird purple towel thing on his head. Wha's that thing called again?"

"A turban?" Damien suggested.

"Yea! Tha's it! A turban."

"Thank you for your time and cooperation."

"Anytime laddie."

Damien pulled Harry off to a corner, "Well Harry, you know the Professors here better than I do. Who was it that he described?"

Harry looked troubled, "That's Professor Quirrell, remember? The one I wrote about when my scar hurts."

"Yes I remember. I think it's time I paid this Professor Quirrell a visit."

**IIII**

Harry sat down at the Ravenclaw table with Michael and Padma. After checking his food and drink with the spell Damien had just taught him he began eating. Damien had gone to the Three Broomsticks to floo call some of his old colleagues in the Auror offices to come to Hogwarts, and to bring some Veritaserum just in case.

About halfway through dinner the doors to the Great Hall burst open to reveal Damien with a group of about six Aurors and a stern looking older woman.

Dumbledore stood, "Amelia? What is the meaning of this?"

The Woman, Amelia, didn't bother to give Dumbledore an answer. She just turned to Damien and asked, "Which one?" Damien pointed to where Professor Quirrell was sitting. What happened next was never really confirmed by anyone (at least not as far as specifics were concerned). All that everyone knew was that as soon as Damien pointed at Quirrell, said wizard leapt to his feet and began firing curses at the Aurors and Damien. Damien returned fire and nearly connected with a stunner, but Quirrell barely dodged it at the last second.

Everyone also heard the hiss-like voice that seemed to come from no where.

"_Fool! You've given us away! I refuse to die with you!"_

Then a strange mist like substance extracted itself from Quirrell's body and escaped through a window. Quirrell fell to the ground screaming for his 'Master' to come back to him. Whoever this 'Master' was did not answer his call. The Aurors bound Quirrell and, without having to use the Veritaserum, were able to get him to willingly confess to letting the troll in and ordering it to go to the dungeons so he could 'get the stone'. Dumbledore paled at this.

"What is 'the stone'?" Amelia asked him.

"Oh, it's the way for my Master to return, to create the Elixir of Life. He will return!" It was obvious from the rambling way that Quirrell was speaking that he was hysterical.

"Who is your Master?"

Quirrell didn't answer, just smiled mockingly.

"Who is your Master?"

"I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. He showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil...there is only power, and those too cowardly to understand it... Since then, I have served him faithfully, though I have let him down many times."

"Who is he?"

Once again Quirrell didn't answer. So they used the Veritaserum, but he fought off its effects and refused to answer any questions. Soon after he was taken away by the Aurors. Amelia turned to face a very ashen faced Dumbledore. "Albus, I don't know what you were, thinking, or if you even were, when you hired that man but I must ask how you could let him teach _children_ and not notice something off about him."

Dumbledore visibly composed himself, "Honestly, Amelia. I do not know." This was probably the first time Albus had told the truth in many years and he found that he did not like it.

This answer did not sit well with Amelia but there was nothing she could do. She bid Damien farewell and left.

**IIII**

Harry sat in shock for a moment before Michael asked the question that everyone was thinking, "What just happened?"

Padma shook her head, "I don't know."

Harry had a bad feeling that he knew who Quirrell's 'Master' was. He just hoped he was wrong, for everyone's sake. Though the chances of that were slim. Quirrell's words kept repeating over and over in his head. He whispered them with a sudden sense of dread.

"He will return."

**IIII**

**A/N: Again, don't Crucify me for the ending of this chapter. It just felt like a good spot to stop. I had fun writing this chapter, especially Damien in Auror Mode. I chuckled writing that bit. I wasn't sure how to expose Quirrell, I wanted something that I hadn't seen done before and thought of a public reveal. Hope it was original. More than that I hope that you all enjoyed it. Review if you want, and feel free to point out any mistakes I made as long as it's in the form of Constructive Criticism.**

**-Atrocity.**


	8. Chapter 8: Serpents and Poison

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that is recognizable.

A/N: Thank you all for your lovely reviews. This chapter will feature the arrival of two of my favorite characters but...I'm a little worried as to how you all will take this.

Oh, and to Anonymous reviewers who just straight out say that my story sucks instead of offering some type of CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, 1) Don't waste my time with your useless drivel, 2) Your Reviews will be deleted, 3) If you don't have the balls to sign in or leave a name so I can respond to you then I suggest you stay away from my story, I don't appreciate childishness.

If you don't like my story, then don't read it. It's as simple as that.

Now that that's out of the way, On with the story.

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter VIII: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I mean Hogwarts (Part VIII: Serpents and Poison)**

To say that things were different at Hogwarts after Damien's departure would be like saying that the castle was old, a ridiculously huge understatement.

Harry and his friends were walking down the halls of Hogwarts on their way to the library. It was now Saturday, four days after the arrest of Quirrell. Without a Defense teacher Snape was now working double duty, having to combine his classes to fit them all into his schedule and still allow everyone to have the weekend off. Truth be told, Harry felt a bit sympathetic towards the gloomy Professor. But he was only holding the job until Dumbledore could find a replacement for Quirrell which, for for his sake, they were hoping was soon.

The day had been a good one so far and they were all chatting merrily when they were interrupted by someone who apparently either had a death wish or was just too stupid to realize that he was the first and only name on Harry's 'to kill' list.

"Hey Harry! I figured that since it's the weekend, we could hang out some. You know get to know each other, after all we're best friends and we haven't hung out once. How about a few games of chess?" Ron said, ignorant as always.

Michael was currently holding Harry back while Padma was holding him back and Hermione was holding her back. Basically it was a long chain of people who wanted to tear the Weasel apart but were using their comrades as a way to distract themselves from their anger, except Harry who was full out trying break Michael's hold.

"So what do ya say? After I beat you a few times we can play some Exploding Snap with Dean and Seamus."

"Weasley, how stupid are you?" A new voice broke through the tension. The group of friends all stopped struggling and released each other and turned as one to face the newcomer. They were met with the sight of the blonde haired 'Prince of Slytherin' Draco Malfoy shaking his head as if he was seeing something embarrassing.

**IIII**

Severus Snape entered the private room at the Three Broomsticks. Remus was already sitting at the table in the center of the room sipping a cup of tea. He and Remus had reconciled their mutual dislike for each other in the wake of the Potters' death. And Both had tried to obtain custody of Harry, but Albus 'it's for the greater good' Dumbledore had blocked them at every turn.

Remus looked up when he heard the door open. "Ah, Severus, it's good to see you my friend."

"Lupin," Severus greeted less informally. "Why have you called this meeting?" he asked as he took the seat opposite Remus.

Remus took a sip of his tea then set his cup down, "I think that it is time we reveal everything to Damien."

Snape frowned, "Why?"

"Well, from what I've heard of his confrontation of that Quirrell guy and how well he has performed on his other mission, he may be able to pull off what we need done."

"It's a huge risk Lupin, what if he can't pull it off? Or if he gets caught? He could betray us."

"No, I don't think he will. He hasn't yet so..."

"Fine, but if something goes wrong, remember that I thought this was a bad idea."

"Noted."

Snape leaned back in his chair, "When will he arrive?"

Remus checked his watch, "In about twenty minutes."

Severus nodded and got comfortable. After a moment of silence, during which Severus had helped himself to a cup of tea, Remus spoke again.

"So, how has Harry been doing in his classes so far?"

Snape smirked, "Number two in his year, right behind his best friend Hermione Granger, a muggle-born witch. Followed by his other two friends Michael corner in third and Padma Patil in fourth."

Remus raised an eyebrow at him, "All within the top five? Impressive. Harry seems to have chosen some smart friends at least."

"Yes, for a while I was worried that he wouldn't make any friends at all with his attitude. When he arrived on September 1st he was withdrawn, angry and dismissive. But it seems that Ms. Granger's efforts softened him up enough for him to come out of his shell."

"This is good, but it raises some problems. Dumbledore will target her now, he'll see her as a tool that he can use to bring Harry under his influence."

Snape grew somber, "He already has, yesterday at dinner I saw Ms. Granger use a detection charm on her meal, I believe Mr. Lynch taught her and the others to use it, she detected something in her drink. I kept my eye on the goblet to make sure no one tried to drink its contents. Once she finished I confiscated the goblet and tested the substance within."

"What did you find Severus?" Remus asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Approximately ninety grams of powdered Death-Cap had been mixed with the Pumpkin juice. So not only would it have killed her rather quickly but it would have been horribly painful and uncomfortable while it worked through her system and ravaged her liver and kidneys," Severus explained looking paler then usual while thinking of what could have happened.

"What are you going to do?"

"Well I've already given them an essay on poisons so they won't be clueless as to what is happening but other than that I'll wait and if she finds more I will speak to her about it and find out why she did not report it, then go from there. If I can get it traced back to Dumbledore then we may have our opening. If not, then we'll just have to wait and hope for the best."

Remus nodded, "He's going too far this time, Severus."

"Yes, he is."

**IIII**

Harry looked at the blonde boy with curiosity. He hadn't had much interaction with Malfoy since the first night at the castle and so didn't know what to expect.

Ron, it seemed, didn't like him too much, which earned Draco a few points in Harry's book. "Shove off Malfoy!"

"Very eloquent Weaselbee, how long did it take you to come up with that? Did you just think of it or have you been refining it over the years?" Malfoy asked him with a smirk. "Seriously though Weasley. How stupid do you have to be to realize that Potter wants nothing to do with you? Except maybe to cause you physical harm. Which I wholly agree with and would love to watch." Ron didn't respond. "What? No come back? I'm shocked, really I am. It appears as though you have even less intelligence than Crabbe and Goyle, and that's saying a lot."

Harry actually found this quite amusing and a quick glance confirmed that the others were enjoying the show as well.

Ron's ears had begun turning red at Malfoy's first words but now his entire face was redder than his hair. "Just shut up!" With that he stomped away.

"No subtlety whatsoever." Draco said in a falsely lamenting fashion.

Harry then decided to ask the question they all wanted to know the answer to. "Why are you here Malfoy? Not that we aren't grateful for you getting him to leave but, why would you interfere?"

"Oh, no reason really Potter, I just love ticking Weasley off when ever I can." he answered with a shrug. Without further explanation he turned and walked away.

"Well, that was certainly interesting." Michael summed up.

Harry nodded his head in agreement. The group continued on their way to the library to get started on Snape's essay on common poisons and how to identify them, the essay was a joint grade for both Potions and Defense.

They sat around a table near the back of the library, which they had claimed as theirs, and each were reading through thick tomes that contained information on both known and obscure potions. After about an hour Hermione stopped reading and just stared at the page in shocked horror, all the color drained from her face and her blood ran cold. She reread the passage again and again. She began to shake as she read the detection techniques, _**With detection spell: substance will glow a mixture of green and white.**_ She let the book fall from her fingers to land against the table, drawing the others' attention.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" Harry asked. She just shook her head as she fought back tears and pointed to the page she had just been reading. Michael pulled the book toward him while Harry put his arms around Hermione, trying to calm her down as best as he could.

"_Death-cap. Also called Amanita phalloides, is a deadly poisonous toadstool distributed all over Europe.. They are generally green in color with a white stipe and gills. Symptoms of poisoning include but are not limited to: abdominal pain, vomiting, watery diarrhea, dehydration, and hypotension. The poison damages the liver and kidneys often leading to death. The minimum lethal dosage is thirty grams or one ounce. Symptoms take up to three days to appear (Minimum dosage). It is believed to be the cause of death for both Roman Emperor Claudius and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. Ways of detection: With detection charm – substance will glow a mixture of green and white."_ Michael read aloud.

By this point Hermione had calmed enough to speak, "The-there was Death-cap in my g-goblet at d-dinner on S-Saturday," she choked out past the lump in her throat. Harry tightened his hold on her and absently began to stroke her hair.

"Why didn't you mention it to anyone?" he asked her.

"I was going to, but then I thought that maybe I was overreacting." she choked out, her voice muffled slightly as she buried her face in Harry's chest.

"We have to tell someone. A teacher or Dumbl-"

"Don't even finish that sentence Padma," Harry said heatedly, "We have no proof of it and I wouldn't go to Dumbledore even if it me that was poisoned."

"But..But we have to do something! We can't just let this go!"

"And we will, just not yet. We have to wait until we have proof. Until then we have to be careful. Hermione, from now on you are eating with us at our table, okay?" Hermione nodded into his chest.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Harry still comforting Hermione, Padma staring gloomily at her parchment and Michael looking thoughtfully at the text before him. "Guys?" Everyone looked at him. "Do you think Snape knows? I mean, the fact that this essay was assigned by _him_ right after this happened seems a bit too strange to be coincidence. Don't you think so?"

Padma spoke, "It does seem odd, and extremely well timed. You don't think that he's in on it do you?"

"If he was in on it, then why would he purposely give us a way of identifying what we detect?"

Harry was only half listening to Michael and Padma argue with each other like bickering siblings, he was more focused on the witch in his arms and thinking of ways to keep her safe. For some reason he couldn't fathom she was important to him, not that he didn't care about Michael or Padma it was just different with Hermione. He felt strangely protective of her. He felt more than he heard Hermione mutter something. He looked down at her and realized that she had somehow fallen asleep.

**IIII**

Damien entered the same private room that he and Remus used for their meetings. He immediately noticed that Remus was not alone this time. He was joined by a man with black hair and dark robes. He was oddly familiar.

"Ah, Damien. Right on time. Come have a seat." Remus beckoned him with his hand. Damien took the seat at the end of the table, directly between Remus and the other man. "Damien, I'd like you to meet my associate: Severus Snape." The man, Snape, nodded in greeting. Damien returned it.

"Now, Damien, first I would like to say how remarkably well you've done with protecting Harry, and by extension his friends. The detection charm you taught them saved one of their lives just recently."

Damien looked concerned, "Who?"

"Ms. Granger. Severus found approximately ninety grams of powdered Death-cap in her drink. She luckily didn't ingest any but neither did she report it, we do not know why. We both suspect Dumbledore is responsible."

Damien appeared slightly sick, "What is to be done?"

"Nothing, yet," Severus told him. Damien was about to protest but he was cut off by Remus.

"We have our reasons. And they are being looked after by Severus while they are in the School. But that isn't why we have asked you here today."

"Then what is?"

"A new job, if you're willing."

Damien thought for a minute, "Okay. What is the job?"

Remus leaned forward with his arms resting on the table, "How much do you know about Sirius Black?"

Damien sifted through his memory, he came up with very little. "Just what is common knowledge, that he was a Death Eater, he betrayed the potters and killed their friend Pettigrew."

"Those are all lies told by Dumbledore in order to keep him imprisoned." Remus informed him. "The truth is that Peter Pettigrew was the one who betrayed them as their secret-keeper, I should know seeing as they told me and Sirius when they made the decision. Also he was imprisoned without a trial and there is no way in hell that he was a Death Eater."

Severus nodded at this, "This is true, I was a Death Eater, He was never mentioned, ever. I may not like him, but he is Harry's godfather and as such, his rightful guardian."

Damien let all of this sink in, "So, what do you need me to do?"

"Set him free."

**IIII**

As suggested, Hermione sat at the Ravenclaw table that evening at dinner. They each individually checked their food and drinks for any foreign or harmful ingredients before consuming them. Personally Hermione was relieved to not have to sit at the Gryffindor table where she would have more than likely lost her appetite as Ron Weasley unceremoniously shovel food into his mouth while attempting to talk to anyone who would listen to him prattle on about the Chudley Cannons. It was a disgusting sight.

Harry had noticed a new addition to the staff table, in the seat that used to belong to Quirrell sat a man with blonde hair. He was conversing with Professor Snape like they were old friends.

As dinner was drawing to a close Dumbledore stood and called for their attention. "I am pleased to inform you that I have found a suitable replacement for our recently departed Professor Quirrell. Please join me in welcoming your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lucius Malfoy."

Lucius stood and gave a slight bow before returning to his seat, there was scattered applause around the Hall except for the Slytherins who looked on the verge of throwing a party. Dinner drew to a close and they all returned to their dorms.

Harry laid awake wondering about what type of person their new professor was. His thoughts soon drifted to a certain brown haired witch and he slipped into sleep with a smile on his face.

**IIII**

**A/N: Shorter, but it is just a filler really, though it does still have plot details. So I guess it isn't a filler oh well. **

**Some speculation: I seem to remember (correct me if I'm wrong) Sirius and Remus having visited the Potters in Godric's Hollow being mentioned in the books at some point. Even so, Sirius knew were the house was when he came to take Harry from Hagrid in the first book. Because of this one would assume that they knew the who the secret keeper was because only the secret keeper can tell the secret. So how is it that no one knew that Peter was the Secret Keeper and not Sirius?**

**I may be wrong in this but it was just something I was wondering about.**

**Review welcome, as long as they are Constructive.**

**-Atrocity.**


	9. Chapter 9: Interlude, Year One

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that is recognizable.

A/N: So many lovely reviews! Thank you all!

I am once again plagued by Writer's block. But the only way to get rid of it is to push forward so here is the next chapter.

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter IX: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I Mean Hogwarts (Part IX: Interlude, Year One)**

Their first lesson with Mr. Malfoy was interesting to say the least. Harry and his friends entered the classroom and took their seats. Lucius Malfoy was seated behind his desk scanning through a few papers. Many of the students had pulled their textbooks out of their bags, seemingly thinking that they were going to be learning theory today. As it was they were surprised when Mr. Malfoy stood and addressed them. "Put your books away, you won't be needing them today."

Confused they did as told. "Now, as you all know, I am to be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the remainder of the school year. As I have seen by reviewing what your previous Professor has taught you, I find myself disappointed. Your education in this subject has been mediocre at best. I intend to correct this." He surveyed the class, "Now, can anyone tell me about the Knockback Jinx _Flipendo_?"

As expected Hermione's hand was in the air before anyone else had a chance to comprehend the question. Mr. Malfoy looked in her direction and seemed to hesitate a moment before speaking, "Yes, Ms.-" he consulted the roll-sheet, "Granger?"

"The Knockback Jinx is a spell used to Knock back an enemy, hence its name. It has no required wand movement, only to point at the intended target. If cast wrong the spell will backfire, resulting in the caster being knock back instead of the target." She said in her usual way.

Mr. Malfoy seemed impressed, "Very good, I believe that warrants ten points for Gryffindor. Now today you will each be put into pairs. One by one each pair will demonstrate the jinx on each other. First pair, Mr. Thomas and Mr. Boot."

Dean and Terry both stood in front of the class as Mr. Malfoy summoned some padded mats to cover the floor and walls to avoid injury. Despite what many believed, he was not cruel enough to allow children to get hurt. "Begin." They soon became thankful for the pads as Dean cast the jinx at the same time that Terry messed up his and was thrown with the combined force of two _Flipendo_s into the wall behind him. "Well, done Mr. Thomas, ten points for Gryffindor."

"Next, Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Padma Patil."

They took their places, "Begin." In no time at all Neville was picking himself up off the floor. Padma had just earned Ravenclaw ten points. This continued, sometimes a Gryffindor would win, sometimes a Ravenclaw. Sometimes neither.

"Mr. Corner and Ms. Granger." Michael and Hermione stood opposite each other. Harry was watching in concern, he didn't want either of his friends to get hurt. "Begin." Michael hesitated for a second, and that was just enough of an opening for Hermione to fire off her spell and blast him into the wall behind him. Michael hit the wall and fell to the floor in a moaning heap. At first Hermione thought that she had hurt him in some way, until he forced himself to his feet with a slightly dazed expression on his face. He stumbled back to his seat next to Harry and mumbled so that only he could hear, "Remind me to never get on her bad side."

"Are you okay Michael?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Oh I'm fine. Just don't do that again. Please." he begged, eliciting a chuckle from Harry.

"So, Michael, how did it feel to get beat by a girl?"

Michael considered for a moment, "Well, at first it felt like a push, then it felt like flying and then it just hurt. Does that answer your question?"

Harry smirked, "That about sums it up."

"Prat."

At this point they were both laughing.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley."

"Finally some payback for making Hermione cry," Harry muttered as all traces of laughter left him.

Harry and Ron stood across from each other. Ron seemed to be extremely confident, Harry on the other hand was doing his best not to blast the git then and there. "I'll go easy on you Potter," he said.

"Yeah? You do that."

"Begin."

Harry immediately sprung into action. Pointing his wand at Ron to shoot his spell but Ron was faster on the draw but, unfortunately for him, had forgotten the correct incantation and thus his spell backfire.. The result was Ron being thrown through the air and hitting the wall upside down, then sliding down to rest in a nearly unconscious state. Mr. Malfoy did a quick diagnostic of Ron before declaring him perfectly fine.

Harry returned to his seat feeling oddly satisfied. He may not have gotten to jinx Ron but seeing his spell backfire was just as good in his book.

"What are you smiling about Potter? You didn't even do anything."

"No, but then again I didn't have to seeing as you did a pretty good job of kicking your own ass without my help," Harry told him. There were chuckles throughout the class and Ron's ears turned red. He was about to respond when Mr. Malfoy told him to return to his seat.

**IIII**

Damien was in a bit of a bind. He had been set a seemingly impossible task. How could he set Sirius Black free when he had no proof that the man was innocent?

He had spent all of his time since the meeting with Remus and Snape pouring over every law book he had, and even went out and bought more, trying to detect any loopholes he could exploit. So far he had come up with nothing.

He had received no trial and, while unlawful, it was not enough to get him free. He could push for a trial but the man had spent ten years in Azkaban, thus his mind wasn't as stable as it used to be. And Veritaserum, while useful, could not be used as evidence in court due to the fact that there were ways to counter it. A magical oath could be used as evidence, but the ministry would not take the risk of giving Sirius Black a wand long enough for him to perform one. Remus had told him about the Potters' deaths and, in relation, their decision to hide under the _Fidelius Charm. _He wasn't aware of Dumbledore's plans for a while_,_ though by some stroke of luck, Severus knew and had told him.. He had been told by Dumbledore, after the Potter's deaths and Sirius's imprisonment, that he had planned it all. From forging a false a prophesy to suggesting the changing of secret keepers to Sirius to throw off the Death Eaters.. With the Potters dead, Sirius in Azkaban and Harry left with his magic hating muggle relatives, he was free to set up the true downfall of Lord Voldemort and become the most powerful and famous wizard in the world, which he said he would then be able to control in any way he wished. While a planned sacrifice wasn't very grand or even very complicated, he liked it that way.

Personally it made Damien sick to think of a man, who was over a hundred years old, trying to manipulate a boy who was barely eleven so he could lead the boy to his death and use it to boost his own reputation and ego. This just bolstered his determination to find a way to free the man who, if not for Dumbledore's manipulations, would have raised Harry in a loving environment as he should have been.

**IIII**

A/N: Really, Really short chapter. Sorry. Not much happening in it at all. This story just seems to be going too slow for my liking. I'd be happy to take suggestions on how to speed it up. Review if you want.

Further Speculation: I was doing a bit of rereading in Deathly Hallows, and it says that Hermione and Ron both go to the Chamber of Secrets. My question is this: How did they even get into the Chamber if neither of them speak Parseltongue? / A complete misunderstanding by me? Or a plot hole so big it could swallow a sun?

-Atrocity.


	10. Chapter 10: Eve of Despair

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that is recognizable.

A/N: Last chapter was really short, I apologize again for that.

TIME SKIP!

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter X: Hi Welcome to Hell, I Mean Hogwarts (Part X: Eve of Despair)**

**IIII 12/24/91 Christmas Eve.**

Harry sat in a comfortable chair near the fire, he had his legs crossed and a book propped up on his knees. Normally He would have been out wandering the halls of Hogwarts with his friends but they had all gone home for the holidays. He had been unable to go back to Damien's for reasons he did not know. All he knew was that Damien had been working on something, something big, and apparently wasn't allowed to tell him about it. While he was disappointed, he understood that Damien was busy and so wouldn't have the time to do his 'job' and keep an eye on him.

As it was he was the only Ravenclaw left at the castle, which he was sharing with the Professors and the Weasleys. He had been spending more time with the Twins since his friends had departed, Where at first he had seen them as bullies with childish tactics, he had now discovered that they used their pranks as more than something to do for fun but as a strange type of justice. He noticed that everyone they pranked had done something to deserve it. For example: they had pranked Marcus Flint because he had made a Hufflepuff first year cry by calling her some nasty names and insulting her family, which had been killed by Voldemort. He had ended up stuck to the doors of the Great Hall in nothing but his underwear, which featured little pink ducks. The girl's name was Susan Bones, and this incident was when Harry decided to bring her into his circle of friends. She had been so happy that she had hugged him for a full minute, much to Hermione's annoyance. As it turned out she only had one friend before that and that was her fellow Hufflepuff Hannah Abbott, whom they had also been brought into the fold.

Harry chuckled at the memory of Michael complaining because Harry and he were now outnumbered four to two. He had set out to try and even up the numbers a bit and brought Neville Longbottom and Terry Boot. Harry wasn't too sure he liked Terry, the boy complimented Hermione's intelligence and skills far too often for his liking. Luckily he didn't hang around very much.

His thoughts turned to a certain bushy-haired bookworm. Hermione had taken to spending all of her spare time with the group, either in the library or the Ravenclaw tower. She came and went as she pleased, but then again who ever thought that a riddle would keep her out? On more than one occasion they had caught her sleeping on the couch in their common room. When asked why she told them that she was trying to avoid Ron and his begging her to do his homework for him. After that they didn't question it, though Harry always brought her a pillow and blanket from his bed to make her more comfortable.

He closed his book and stood. He set the book on the chair he had just vacated and exited through the portrait hole. Thinking of his friends was making him feel even more lonely than he ever thought could be possible. He wandered through the empty corridors of Hogwarts with no destination in mind.

After what felt like hours he came to a dead end. Well, it wasn't really a dead end, there was a door. He shrugged and pushed the door open. The room was spacious and dark. There were no windows or torches to allow light in. He was about to turn around and leave when the light from the corridor glinted off of something towards the back of the room. He closed the door and approached the object. "_Lumos!_" he muttered as he drew his wand. The room was quickly illuminated by the white ball of light at the end of his wand.

Before him stood a tall mirror. The frame was a mixture of wood and metal, the top piece was engraved, he could not make the words, he wasn't even sure what language it was. Its reflective surface was unblemished, unmarked, flawless. One word could sum up the condition: Immaculate.

He stood gazing into the mirror when he noticed another person walk up behind him. He spun around quickly but there was no one there. Turning back to the mirror he found that the person was still there, only this time he was joined by another, a woman with long red hair and beautiful green eyes. .His eyes. "Mum? Dad?" he whispered, as if afraid that if he spoke any louder he would scare them away. The two reflections nodded and smiled at him. He was about to speak again but stopped when a third figure joined his parents. This one was a young girl his age. She had brown eyes and bushy brown hair, Hermione. She stood next to his reflection holding his hand, entwining her fingers with his and smiling brightly at him. He couldn't help it, his lips turned up in a smile and he felt tears stinging his eyes.

He sat down on the floor, his reflection and Mirror-Hermione followed suit. How long he stayed there he didn't know but he knew that he should be getting back to his dorm. The only problem was, he didn't want to leave. He would have been content to just sit there for the rest of his life, if only to preserve the image before him. It was so perfect that it hurt to imagine it any other way.

It was with a heavy heart that he tore his eyes away from the beautiful sight and walked away. He entered the common room and collapsed onto the couch in front of the fire. He lacked the will to walk any further. He wondered what god hated him so much to show him that beautiful yet impossible image. His parents were dead, he couldn't get them back. And Hermione...Hermione was too good for someone like him. He freely admitted to himself, though he would never say it aloud, that he had feelings for his book loving best friend. Just what those feelings were, he wasn't certain, all he knew was that they were strong.

He fell into slumber there on the sofa, the dying fire providing a comfortable warmth. His dreams were unsurprisingly filled with the scene he had witnessed in the mirror's surface.

**IIII**

Damien continuously read and reread every book he had that mentioned the law. He even dug out his old training notes. Nothing. He could just push for a trial and hope for the best but that was taking huge risks. Risks that he wasn't prepared to take. Yet.

What a way to spend Christmas. He sincerely hoped that Harry was having a better holiday than he was. He would have loved to have had Harry back for Christmas but as it was all he had before was research, research, research and more research. He had already sent off a gift for Harry to Hogwarts so he didn't have to worry about Harry thinking that he had forgotten him. He most certainly hadn't, this was all for him after all. His gift had taken a fair amount of gold and some business with goblins but other than that it wasn't much of a hassle.

Hours later he had just finished rereading the last book in his stack. He stood and dropped himself unceremoniously on his bed. Without bothering to change or even remove his shoes his eyes slipped shut and he passed into the world of dreams.

**He sat on the bed provided for him by the orphanage. The mattress was thin and uncomfortable, the sheets itchy and full of holes. It was summer, but he wasn't aloud to play outside with the other kids. The priest had told the owner of the orphanage that he was unstable and violent so he should not be let near the others.**

**It was on this day that he received a visit from an older woman name Minerva McGonagall. She told him that he was a wizard, about a school called Hogwarts and how there was a place for him there if he wished it. He had accepted immediately. Anywhere was better than the hell he currently resided in. When he arrived at Hogwarts on September 1st of 1979 he was sorted into Slytherin. As the only muggle-born in Slytherin he was shunned by his house-mates. He had no friends except for his books, the relationship was kinda one-sided.**

**Academically he did well, he didn't participate in sports or group activities of any kind, though he was invited to join Professor Slughorn's Slug Club which he declined. was often in detention for getting into fights with the pure-bloods who saw him as inferior and tried to bully him, he was the target of many hate related attacks. Hogwarts, he decided, wasn't any different from any other school in the world. It had cliques, bullies and authority figures who didn't give a damn about the children they presided over.**

**During the summers he was forced to return to the orphanage, to him it actually seemed like a reprieve. At least there he didn't have to leave his room if he didn't want to and he didn't have to sleep with one eye open because his dorm-mates might try to kill him in his sleep. It had happened more than once at school. **

**Over the years he became even more aware of the corruption of the wizarding world. In his fifth year he had gotten twelve O.W.L.s, passed all of his N.E.W.T.s in his seventh year and graduated at the top of his class. He went straight into the Auror program and after three years had had enough of Pure-bloods holding him back due to his blood status. **

**It was on his first job that things began to go even more wrong for him. He was dueling two dark wizards in Knockturn Alley. He had just taken the first down when the other vanished from sight. There was a bright flash of light and the sound of a body hitting the ground.**

**He spun to the sound and found the other wizard dead at his feet. In the doorway of a shop stood a man. He had oily graying hair and a snarl on his lips. Damien tried to thank the man but he just told him to shut up and then said something about Damien owing him a life-debt. He introduced himself as Borgin and told him that he would work for him until he felt that the debt had been repaid.**

**This was how Damien gained his reputation as one of the best Mercs of the wizarding world. Borgin would lend his services out to any who paid well enough. The jobs varied in category. From Search and rescue to high/low profile assassination. It wasn't until he received the job of protecting Harry Potter that he began to think that enough was enough. Then the Orion job. He hated himself for what he did to the man but he couldn't take it back, there would be no forgiveness for him. In this world or the next. Damien wasn't religious by any measure but even he knew that there would be punishment for the atrocities he had committed. **

**His hope of redemption came in the form of Sirius Orion Black, he was a victim of the world as much as he was, the only difference was the amount of blood on their hands. Sirius was innocent, Damien was not. Both Harry and Sirius deserved a better life than the one they had been given, and he would make sure that they got it. No Matter what the cost.**

These were the thoughts that ran through his head as he awoke an hour later. Knowing that he would find no peace in his dreams he set off back to his desk to once again search for loopholes. After Christmas he would pay a visit to Amelia, see if she had any ideas.

**IIII**

Harry woke feeling stiff. He made to roll himself to edge of his bed but met nothing but air. He flailed his arms as he toppled to the floor. He stood, cursing himself under his breathe as he did so. He turned to the large Christmas tree not expecting to see anything under it as he was the only person there, which was why he was surprised to find ten packages sitting beneath it.

He opened the first, which was from Padma, it was a book on wizarding customs, which he thought would be very useful. He received sweets from Susan, Terry, Fred and George and a book on magical creatures from Hagrid. Why would Hagrid get him a gift? They had barely spoken maybe two words to the giant of a man. Perhaps he should visit him sometime today and find out.

From Michael he got a book on defensive magics. Hermione's gift made him smile, and remember what he had seen the night before, it was a muggle wallet with a chain connected to it. Inside it were multiple pictures of her at her home and out in the snow. It wasn't much but it still meant a lot to him. Damien's gift was unexpected but welcome. It was a paper from Gringotts informing him that he was now the owner of the rights to any and every book or text that had mentioned his name. As such he could discontinue the production of them and receive royalties from sales. It also required any publication to have to get their story or book approved by him personally before it could be released. Damien had done this as a way to help Harry protect his reputation and prevent others from spreading lies about him, according to the handwritten note that came with it. He was extremely thankful for this as he remembered the story Hermione had told him about on the train ride to Hogwarts.

His last package bore no name and was wrapped in plain brown paper. He tore the paper open to reveal a silvery fabric, a folded piece of parchment and a note. The note read:

_Dear Harry,_

_These belonged to your father before he died. I was able to save them before Dumbledore got his hands on them. I feel that it is time you had some things to remember him by. I'm sorry that I do not have something of your mother's to give you but I hope these will help you in your time at Hogwarts._

_Your Friends,_

_Moony & S_

_P.S. I Solemnly Swear that I am up to no good._

_Mischief Managed._

**IIII**

A/N: It's still too short for my taste but I refuse to let this story die. I know where I want it to go but getting it there is giving me problems. I don't what to rush things too much but I also don't want to let it become stale. If you have suggestions let me know, I'm open to Idea's. Review if you want.


	11. Chapter 11: End of Year Mayhem

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that is recognizable.

A/N: Fixed a few mistakes in the previous chapter. This one is to move the story along and out of first year.

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

**by**

**I Am Atrocity**

**Chapter XI: Hi, Welcome to Hell, I Mean Hogwarts (Part XI: End of Year Mayhem)**

It took Harry a few hours to figure out what exactly the gifts from Moony and 'S' were; when he did he was dumbfounded. A map that showed all of Hogwarts and everyone in it! A cloak that made him invisible! He spent the rest of the holiday exploring the castle and searching for the secret passages that were shown on the map. He was saving the third floor for when his friends got back. He had often wondered why Dumbledore would announce that the place was off-limits in front of the entire school; it was a rule just begging to be broken, and planned to do it.

When they returned Harry was immediately knocked off his feet by a smiling Hermione who was thanking him profusely for the gift he had given her. It wasn't much really, just a necklace with a small heart-shaped pendent on it; being a boy he didn't think much of it, he just thought that she would like it. Apparently she loved it.

He showed Hermione and Michael the map and the cloak; Michael was impressed, Hermione was a bit disapproving, though still impressed. When Harry asked them if they wanted to explore the third floor with him only Michael agreed. He was disappointed that Hermione didn't want to come but when he and Michael got there he was glad that she hadn't.

They walked through the dark corridor until they reached a door. They pushed it open and passed through it. At first Harry didn't see anything due to the lack of light but as his eyes adjusted he became aware of a problem. Laying before them was a massive three-headed dog! Michael had noticed it too as he now stood frozen in place. Harry backed away slowly, hoping not to disturb the sleeping beast but alas luck was not on his side. He stumbled back and land on the floor with a loud thud. The beast opened its eyes and lifted itself to it's full height.

"Michael?" Harry spoke from his spot on the floor.

"Yeah?" he asked nervously.

"R-run!"

Without hesitating they sprinted for the door. The dog thrust one of its heads at them as they tried to slam the door behind them; the force of the blow knocked both of them off their feet. They scrambled away from the snapping jaws, drew their wands and began firing every spell they knew at the head that had made it through the door; the other two could be heard barking and snarling at them through the walls.

Michael saw his chance to close the door when a stinging hex from Harry hit the dog in one of its eyes. As the door closed and the lock slid into place the dog repeatedly smashed its heads against the wood of the door, hoping to remove the barrier between it and its next meal.

They both stood panting; Harry let out a small laugh, which soon turned into chuckles, then into full-out laughter. Soon they were both collapsed on the floor, their bodies shaking as the voiced their joy. When they finally were able to suppress their hysteria they agreed to never try something like that again without planning ahead first.

They checked the map to make sure that all of the commotion hadn't attracted unwanted attention. Seeing no one nearby they donned the cloak and headed back to the common room as fast as possible. Upon arrival they told Hermione, who had somehow (Padma invited her) commandeered a bunk in the Ravenclaw girl's dorm, moved her trunk and other belongings there and refused to leave or give it up, about what had happened. After a rather brutal tongue-lashing from the normally docile bookworm she then practically ordered them to go to their dorm. They did so just to appease her.

When Hermione had moved into the Ravenclaw tower she had cast a notice-me-not charm on her old bunk so no one would notice

The rest of the year was relatively uneventful, unless you count seeing the priceless expression on Dumbledore's face when, after spreading the word about finding potentially harmful chemicals in their drinks, the entire Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor (minus Ron because he couldn't wait to stuff his face) tables all performed the detection charm on their dinner in nearly perfect sync. The shocked expression was complete with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. This became a regular event as no one except Harry and his group knew who would be targeted, even the Slytherins had taken to the habit. Dumbledore didn't make another attempt on Hermione's life for the rest of the year.

After reading in a book that underage magic was traced by a charm placed on their wands as soon as they were complete Hermione had begun learning to cast the detection charm wandlessly so she could continue using it outside of school so as to not loose the habit.

The end of year exams were a breeze for Harry and his circle as they had all taken to studying in the library every day after classes. As expected Hermione was the top of the class.

On the last day of term Damien made an appearance at the school. He had apologized to Harry for not being able to spend Christmas with him. Harry decided to show Damien the map and cloak.

Damien was examining the map when his eyes grew wide. "Harry, can I borrow this? For a few minutes?" He asked in a tone that conveyed urgency.

"Um, sure..." before Harry had even finished his sentence Damien had rushed off in the direction of the dungeons.

**IIII**

Damien ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He had to find Severus, quickly. The map showed that he wasn't very far from him. He reached a door and consulted the map; it showed that Snape was just on the other side. He knocked. "Enter," Snape's voice called from in side. Damien rushed in and slammed the map down on his desk.

"I've found it!" he said triumphantly.

"Mr. Lynch, I am afraid that I must inform you that this map was never lost."

"What? No! Not the map you idiot. I found a way to get Black out of Azkaban!"

Now Snape looked interested. He leaned forward, "Go on."

"Look here," Damien pointed to a spot on the map. "What name is that?"

Snape stared in disbelief, "Peter Pettigrew..."

"Peter Pettigrew," Damien confirmed. "He is supposed to be dead."

Snape studied the map for a moment, focusing mainly on the area in which the name appeared. "That's Gryffindor tower...Okay, let's get moving. You contact Bones, I'll catch the rat." With that he picked up the map and actually ran out of the office. Damien hurried over to the fireplace and tossed in some of the floo powder that Snape had in a pot next to it. "Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Bones' Office!" he called out as the flames turned green. He stuck his head into the fire and gazed about the office in which his head was now present. "Amelia!"

Amelia turned toward her fireplace and was met with the sight of Damien Lynch's head floating there. "Damien? What is it?"

"Amelia, you have to get to Hogwarts immediately. You remember what I talked to you about over the holidays?" She nodded. "I found it. Now get some Aurors that you can trust and get down here." With that he withdrew and sprinted out of the office in the direction of where he had left Harry. When he found them he called out to Hermione, "Hermione, I need you to lead me to the Gryffindor tower, right now." Hermione, sensing his urgency, set of at a quick pace; Damien and Harry followed close behind. As the portrait guarding the Gryffindor common room came into view it opened to reveal a smirking Severus Snape carrying an unconscious rat by its neck.

"What is that?" Hermione asked in disgust.

Damien was about to answer her when someone interrupted him, "Hey! What are you doing with my rat?"

They all turned to find Ron Weasley running toward them. Damien was in Auror mode again and stood between the approaching redhead and the rat in Severus' hands. "Sir, I am afraid that I cannot allow you to come any closer."

"What are you talking about? Get out of my way!" Ron said and tried to push passed Damien who held him back with a hand on his arm. He pulled the boy back in front of him.

"Did I not just say that you are not allowed to come any closer?"

Ron was looking panicked and didn't hear the warning in the dark haired man's voice and this was once again the reason for the rather unfortunate outcome the encounter. "You're not my dad, or a teacher, I don't have to listen to you. Now get out of my way." He drew his wand thinking to intimidate Damien but since Damien was an ex-Auror some habits were still ingrained into his psyche. As soon as he saw the wand he had drawn his own and stunned the boy before he could blink.

Everyone stared at him in shock. "Um...I think I just killed a kid." They all nodded at the same time. It would have been comical if the stunner hadn't blasted Ron off his feet and over the rail to the floor below. As one they all ran down the stairs to check on the annoying redhead. Damien checked his pulse with a practiced hand and declared that he was still alive. They all released the breath that they hadn't realized they had been holding. They dropped Ron off at the hospital wing.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked them as they set Ron down on one of the beds.

"Uh, he tripped." Damien said grasping at straws for a believable lie.

"Down some stairs," Hermione piped up.

"Hit his head," Harry continued the lie.

"Rather unfortunate really," Snape finished.

Madam Pomfrey looked at them skeptically but didn't say anything as she began to work. They left and headed to the Entrance Hall where Amelia had just arrived with two Aurors in tow. The first was a tall man with dark skin and dressed in middle-eastern style robes, and the second was a petite woman with shortish spiky pink hair, she seemed to be clumsy as she almost tripped over the end of her coat. "Hello Damien. First off allow me to introduce Auror Shacklebolt and Auror-in-training Tonks." The dark-skinned man nodded to them. Tonks' greeting was a little more enthusiastic and friendly.

"Wotcher, everyone!"

They returned the greeting. Damien, not wanting to stall any longer, cut straight to the chase, "Amelia, I have proof that Sirius Black is innocent of all of the crimes for which he has been accused." There were mixed reactions all around. Shacklebolt gave him a disbelieving stare, Tonks looked excited, Amelia was expectant and Harry and Hermione were just confused.

"And where is this proof Damien?" Amelia asked.

"Right," he took the rat from Snape, "here." He held the still unconscious rat up for her to see. Shacklebolt was now looking very skeptical; Damien was disappointed in him, Aurors are supposed to be open to all possibilities and not jump to conclusions. "What you see here is an unregistered animagus." He stunned the rat again for good measure, set it on the ground before him and drew his wand. By this time they had gathered quite an audience, even Dumbledore could be seen heading in their direction from the stairs to the second floor. Damien raised his voice so that all could hear him. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Peter Pettigrew!" as he said this he pointed his wand and silently cast the spell that forced an animagus back to its human form. The rat slowly began to grow and and take on human features though the final result still strongly resembled a rat.

There were gasps all around. Tonks, with reaction speed that made Amelia proud, summoned a pair of magic suppressing shackles and clamped them on the man. The moment of triumph was interrupted by an enraged Dumbledore. "What is the meaning of this? I demand that you explain this immediately." He was ignored as Amelia withdrew a bottle of Veritaserum, applied the required amount then eneverated Pettigrew. The rat-like man woke up with a glazed look that indicated that the Veritaserum had already taken effect.

"What is your name?" Amelia asked.

"Peter Pettigrew," he replied in a dull voice.

"Are you a death eater?"

"Yes."

Damien spoke up then, "That alone is enough to have him taken in. Let me ask something." he walked in front of Peter. "Was Sirius Black the Potters' secret keeper?"

"No."

"Who was?"

"I was, they though it would be a good idea, seeing as everyone would have expected it to be Sirius."

"Did you betray the Potters' to Voldemort?"

"Yes."

Amelia thought that the interrogation was done and was reaching for the antidote when she felt a hand on her arm. Damien continued his questioning. "Did anyone else know that you were the traitor other than you and Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"Albus Dumbledore. He found me after I framed Sirius, which was his idea, and told me that he had arranged for me to hide with the Weasleys as a household pet for one of their sons."

The room erupted in whispers and shouts. Dumbledore was turning an impressive shade of red never before achieved by anyone. Tonks once again showed how well she was being trained by summoning another pair of cuffs and snapping them on a stunned Dumbledore. Dumbledore was furious, how dare they? They had no right! "I demand that you let me go at once!"

"Sorry Albus, but I can't do that. You are now under arrest for suspected aiding and abetting of a fugitive."

"You have no right-"

"I have every right! Unlike you. You forfeited your rights when you helped this man." Amelia told him heatedly.

Damien wasn't finished with the situation and pulled a folder out of his coat. "I did some research, looked into the trial records and guess what I found. It's really not that hard. Sirius Black was brought in on charges of being a Death Eater, betraying the Potters' to Voldemort and the murder of twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew. He was not questioned and he was denied a trial by the order of the head of the Wizengamot, which is and was none other than Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." he paused, letting what he had just said sink in, "but that's not all. Last year on the twenty-third of June, I witnessed a man attack and seriously injure Harry Potter. This man was Mr. Potter's muggle, magic-hating uncle. Now you may ask: why young Harry was with these horrible people? Well I'll tell you. Further research shows that the Potters' wills were sealed, making it impossible to learn who was supposed to take him in in the event of his parents untimely death. He was then left on his aunt and uncle's door step with nothing but a note. All by the hand of Albus Dumbledore."

He turned back to Dumbledore, "Do you have anything to say?"

Dumbledore raised himself to his full height and took on a calm and confident posture, his look complete with his trademark eye-twinkle. "It was for the greater good." He said this as if it explained everything and would get him off the hook. This was the line he had used, with a bit of compulsion, to manipulate everyone. Sadly for him, Damien didn't give a damn about the greater good. He cared about Harry's safety and happiness, and that of his friends.

"Sorry, that isn't good enough."

Amelia ordered Tonks to take him to a ministry holding cell along with Pettigrew and ordered Shacklebolt to accompany her. They did as told, Tonks left with a wink at Damien, who looked a little confused.

"Well, Damien," Amelia said after the two Aurors had left, "with the way you act, one would think that you were still an Auror." Damien chuckled. "You know, we always have a place for you if you decide you want to come back."

"Thanks Amelia, but at the moment," he looked around at the dispersing crowd, "I'm having way too much fun."

**IIII**

The next day Harry skipped out on the train ride, though he had set up a date for him to visit Hermione during the summer, to accompany Damien to Azkaban to oversee the release of Sirius Black. Damien had explained to him who the man was and his relationship with his parents. The fact that his godfather had been illegally imprisoned caused Harry to see red until Damien calmed him down.

They were currently waiting at the entrance of the wizard prison for the rest of the party to arrive. Snape would have accompanied them but he had to help McGonagall, who was the acting Headmistress, clean up the mess left in Dumbledore's wake. Momentarily a boat arrived and a small group disembarked and headed toward them. Among them Harry recognized Amelia Bones and the Minister, the latter of which did not look too happy to be there. A man with brown hair that had flecks of gray in it exchanged friendly greetings with Damien. "You did it, my friend."

"It was all thanks to Harry here. If he hadn't had that map then I would have never found the rat," Damien told him. The man looked at Harry and smiled warmly.

"So, mine and Severus' Christmas gifts came in handy huh?"

Harry was shocked, "You sent me those?"

The man nodded and stuck out his hand, "I'm Remus Lupin, I went to school with your parents" Harry shook the mans hand with a smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

"Harry, I'd like to think that we are friends. So call me Remus, or Moony if you prefer."

"OK, Moony."

They all entered the Prison and, after the security check, arrived at the cell holding Sirius Black. The guard opened the cell and brought Sirius out. The Minister then made a small speech of apology that sounded forced. Remus barely wasted any time in embracing the shocked former prisoner. He looked even more shocked when he saw Harry and the boy hugged him as well.

They left the dark confines of Azkaban to board the boats. When Sirius saw sunlight for the first time in almost eleven years, tears of joy fell from his eyes. And for the first time in those eleven years he smiled.

**IIII**

**A/N: Well there's that. Let me know what you think. No Flames.**

**Oh and a question: Do you think I should give Damien a love interest? If so, I'll take suggestions as to who.**


	12. AN: Sequel

**The Boy Who Destroyed the World Part I**

**Status: Complete.**

**Sequel: The Boy Who Destroyed the World Part II**

**Status: WIP/Planning.**

A/N: Sorry if you thought that this was a new chapter. I just thought I would let you know that Part 2 is in the process of being planned and then Written, Shouldn't be too long until I post thew first Chapter of it. Be on the Look out.

Until then my friends,

-Atrocity.


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